Swimming in the Flood
by TheMorningPaper
Summary: Raven takes up swimming in hopes of controlling her emotions and desires, and new doors seem to open up when Robin confronts her about it one night.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Raven dove into the water. Her back arching, then releasing as her limbs unwound below the surface. She couldn't sleep again. It was two in the morning and another dream had already stirred her awake, rending her unable to sleep again. And they weren't even nightmares. They were nice dreams. Dreams that made her feel like she belonged. Ones that left her wanting more, but they were dreams she knew she could never experience in real life.

As the Titans began to age, Raven could sense her desires to feel like a normal person growing as well. She had become better and better at sensing the others' emotions to the point where she sometimes couldn't help it. She could feel their excitement and happiness crawling around her, seeping into her heart and exciting her. Sometimes she truly liked it – she liked being able to feel their happiness, but it also made it harder for her to suppress her own emotions. Feeling their laughter made her want to laugh along with them, but that was dangerous territory. Her growing desire for free expression was making her emotions more and more volatile and every now and then she could sense herself begin to lose control. In her dreams, she expressed herself like a normal person – and the others loved her for it. She no longer forced herself to sit on the sidelines while the others played volleyball, but instead proved herself as a valuable player while the others praised her, even if it did make the teams off in numbers. Though her dreams wouldn't seem particularly exciting to the average person, they were good enough for Raven. More than good enough. However, waking from them only made her long even more for the chance at a normal life. Every time she woke, the realization of her inability to live those dreams would emotionally upset her and she knew she needed to find a way to calm herself.

Meditation was her usual go-to, but she had become so used to it that she wanted to try something fresh, something that she could try to become better at as a way of keeping her mind and desires occupied. And so she chose swimming. The exercise allowed her to stretch her muscles. It left her out of breath and presented a way for her to release her pent up emotions without breaking anything. Every time she plunged arm after arm into the water, she felt her frustration reduce and she could just focus on her movements and breathing. Shortly after she had tried it, the activity became precious to her, which was why she only swam at night so the others wouldn't find out. If they did, she was afraid they would want to join her and make it into some kind of stupid competition. Not that she didn't want to spend time with her friends – quite the contrary – she wished more than anything that she could spend _more_ time with them, but this was just another thing that she needed to do alone – for their sake and for hers.

A little over a year ago Beast boy had begged Robin to add an indoor pool to the tower, to which Robin had quickly refused, claiming that they didn't need a pool when they lived on an island that was completely surrounded by the Jump City bay. But eventually Beast Boy had worn him down. The rest of the team held no objections and though he'd never admit it, Robin was slightly tempted by Beast Boy's promises of getting to see the girls lounging around the pool in bikinis (which never actually ended up happening). Some of them used it for training a few good times, but eventually the pool fell out of favor and everyone ended up forgetting about it, until Raven decided to give it another shot.

She could feel the muscles in her back flexing as she backstroked down the middle lane then flipped underwater to push herself off the edge and glide back to the other side. She moved back and forth at a steady pace, switching into a different type of stroke with each lap – so focused that she didn't notice Robin walk into the room.

 _She never ceases to surprise me._ Robin watched her image ripple against the water's surface as she propelled herself below, her limbs straight and coordinated like she'd been swimming her entire life. As she spun against the wall and made her way back down the lane, he could see the ties of her black bikini as her body rose to the surface, barely making a splash as her arms thrusted her forward and she paused at the wall to catch her breath.

"I never realized you were such a good swimmer."

Raven looked up at Robin's figure standing casually above her. His heavy black sweatpants hung loosely around his waist while his red t-shirt fit snugly around his torso and arms. _How long has he been standing there?_ "It's more of a recently acquired skill." She said coolly.

"Well I'm glad someone's using the pool. I was starting to think all that effort was basically money down the drain."

She pushed her hands over her scalp to smooth down her wet hair. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. You've been restless lately." She gave him a confused look and he explained more. "I can feel it when you get up at night. You're always anxious."

She turned her face down in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "I didn't realize I was waking you."

"No it's fine. Most of the time I'm already up working on something anyway." He put his hands in his pockets and walked closer to the pool's ledge where she rested. "I've been meaning to talk to you about it, but I could never figure out where it is you run off to. The pool is one of the last places I imagined."

"Like I said, it's kind of a recent thing."

"Not that I don't approve, but is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine."

He knew she was clearly lying and he waited for her to continue in hopes that she'd reveal something to him, but she didn't budge. Not that he expected her to start unloading immediately; Raven always put up a good fight.

"You want to race?" She asked.

He looked at her a bit surprised. "Do _you_ want to race?"

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "It's okay if you're afraid. I understand."

 _Oh so she's baiting me huh? Appealing to the competitor in me…trying to get me to drop the subject. Fine, I can play along._

He pulled his shirt up over his head, revealing his sculpted abs, and slipped out of his sweatpants leaving him in only his boxer briefs. Raven turned her head to hide her immediate blush and he dived into the pool next to her, sleeking his hair back with his hand as he surfaced to face her.

"You sure you want to do this?" He teased playfully before he saw her grab the ledge of the pool to lift herself up out of the water. "Wait… Raven I was just messing around–"

"We have to get out of the pool to start dummy."

 _Oh right…_

He climbed back out and the two crouched into diving positions, eyes fixed on the water in front of them. Raven gave the countdown. "Ready, set, go."

They plunged into the water, resurfacing very close to one another as they sped along. Robin had a good amount of speed and kept up well, but his form was nowhere as neat as Raven's. His arms created bigger splashes that served to slow him down while Raven's strokes were clean and swift. They reached the end of the pool with Raven having a slight lead, but Robin managed to gain some distance back on the turn as he flipped and pushed his legs against the wall. They came up next to each other once again and Raven could feel a building desire to win. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mind set on reaching the end before him. She knew it didn't matter who won, yet she felt herself wanting it so bad. _Is this what he feels all the time? This ambition?_

They swam neck and neck to the end of the lane and smacked the edge of the pool as soon as they reached it. They came up for air, both trying to catch their breath.

"Who won?" She asked.

"I don't know." He laughed. "We didn't think that far ahead."

She sighed in annoyance as Robin continued to chuckle beside her. She could begin to feel his laughter bubbling up happily inside of her as her powers latched on to his emotions. It was like a little orb of warmth, like something she could almost put her hands around even though it had no physical body. She cupped her hands together like a bowl and dipped it into the pool, cradling the water like she would try to cradle his laughter if it was possible. But the feeling died as his chuckling came to an end and she let the water pour out of her hands.

"It helps doesn't it?" He pulled himself up on the ledge and sat with his legs still dangling in the water. "Being in the water helps you feel calm…"

"Yes." She said, not looking up at him.

"What about meditating?"

"I needed…something else."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just…" She didn't know how to finish, but he waited, determined to get an answer out of her. She turned her head away from him. "It's just…"

"What is it Raven?"

"…We're getting older. And I can feel it." She could sense the familiar longing feeling coming up inside of her. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about, yet she could feel the words starting to spill from her mouth, and if she knew anything about Robin, it was that he wasn't going to drop the subject until he got something out of her. "Eventually the rest of you are going to actually grow up and start having families of your own – and it's great – but it's starting to dawn on me that I'm not going to be able to keep up with you. I'm never going to be able to have those things."

"Raven, that's ridiculous."

"No, it's not. Before Trigon I never had to worry about getting older because I never thought I would make it that far. Now the older I get, the more I can feel everyone else's emotions. You all… feel so much, so much of the time, and it's getting harder for me….because I want to feel those things too – on my own." She finally turned around to face him. "I'm becoming less and less content with the limitations of my powers. The older I get, the more human I feel I need to be."

"You are human." He said softly.

She shook her head. "Not in the same way. What if one day the rest of you are all married and happy, and I'll still be the same Raven I am today. With no relationships and no family."

"We're your family. I'm your family. You've said that yourself."

"Right now yes. But don't you want to have kids some day?"

"Well yeah but–"

"–And when you do, that'll be your family. And they'll mean everything to you."

"But you could have that too."

He didn't understand. "Robin you know I can't. No one wants to date a girl who can't show them that she loves them – and no one should. I can never be in a healthy relationship because I'll never be able to treat a boyfriend the way a girlfriend should. It would have to be passionless," She dunked under the water for a moment to get her hair wetter before continuing, "and starting a family is out of the question. I could never have kids – they'd be at least a quarter demon, which is a burden I'd never willingly put on anyone – least of all my children." She kicked off the edge of the pool and began to swim another lap to try and calm herself.

Robin was stunned. He never imagined that she thought so seriously about things like this. Although he supposed it made sense; he knew that Starfire would often unload her dreams of the future onto Raven during their 'girl time' together. It was only natural that Raven started to think about it too. If he was going to be honest, he had thoughts about his own future that weren't too off from what Raven had described, so why shouldn't she feel the same?

As she made her way back to his side of the pool, she paused at the ledge, knowing he'd have something to say to her.

She sighed. "Alright let me hear it…"

He looked at her sadly. "Raven, you and I have been through this before. You can't know how you're future is going to play out. None of us can."

"But–"

"But nothing. Who's to say that you won't have more control over you're powers by that time? Who's to say you won't be able to express more? When we first met you were about as expressive as a rock, and now look at you – you're practically crying."

"Shut up."

"–and nothing's broken. I can feel how upset you are and yet you're powers are under control. You're gaining more control Raven, you just don't realize it."

Her voice began to waver. "But it's still so hard."

He leaned over and grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him so he could place his hands on her shoulders. "I know it is – but that's why you have me."

Slowly she allowed herself to recognize what truth there was in his reasoning. Perhaps he had a point. The idea of living a normal life would always be stilted by her powers – it would always be harder for her than the others. To her it felt impossible. But maybe in time, if she worked hard enough, she could still have those things in her own way. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger. "And you come up with this crap all on your own?"

"You can make fun all you want, but you know I'm right. We have a lot of time ahead of us Raven, there's no telling who we'll be by then."

She paused for a moment, giving him a look to let him know that she appreciated his words before smirking at him. "…You're such a ham."

He laughed and dipped his hand in the pool to splash some water up at her, to which she responded by sending a miniature wave back at him with her powers, completely re-soaking him. She kicked off the edge and he hopped back in the pool to chase after her. He kept the lower half of his face below the water, eyeing her like a crocodile while she used her legs to propel herself further and further away from him. They went around in circles until eventually her back hit one of the walls and he used the opportunity to lunge at her, pressing his hands against the edge around her so she couldn't escape. She could feel her skin heat up from the closeness.

"So maybe I was overreacting." She admitted.

"Not overreacting. Just overly worried." He didn't budge; his arms still locked tight around her, keeping her in a box. "Did I at least help?"

She looked at him seriously. She could see the water droplets running from his hair down the side of his jaw and onto his neck. She gave him a small smile. "You always do."

Before he could stop himself, he leaned his face in closer to hers and rested his forehead gently against her own. His pulse beat happily in response to her words. Raven's happiness meant more to him than she realized. It wasn't just a matter of being the leader and making sure his teammates felt safe and content. He saw a lot of his own past and anxieties reflected through her. They were both weighted down by burdens that felt almost impossible to overcome, but when he talked to Raven – if he could make her feel better – it healed something in him too. He liked the feeling that she needed him. She was strong enough on her own, but helping her feel stronger in turn made him feel stronger as well. It made him feel important…worthy…desired…all the things he wanted to be considered by her.

She placed her fingers lightly on his chest and allowed herself to close her eyes, leaning into him, and his arms slowly came down to wrap around her. Together they drifted out to the center of the pool where their feet could touch the bottom. She breathed into him and he could feel her body relaxing in his arms. His lips were so close to touching hers. All he had to do was just move his jaw forward an inch, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to. He yearned to know what it would be like to kiss her. There seemed something almost taboo about it, but this wasn't the time. If she was still vulnerable, he couldn't let himself take advantage of that. Instead, he moved to rest his cheek against hers and breathed in the scent of the chlorine engulfing both of them. Her arms lifted up to wrap around him. Her left hand rested against the nape of his neck while the right pressed against the back of his head. They pulled into each other tightly in a hug before coming apart. Her palms slid down the front of his chest and he covered them with his own, smiling at her.

He followed her out of the water and watched her walk to get a towel, finally being able to notice how the bikini tugged snuggly around her body. How her body had grown fuller, yet more muscular at the same time. He observed the curve of her breasts and abs as she pressed a towel against her face and he silently gave thanks that she was wearing a bikini – anything more would've been criminal – anything less would've given him a heart attack. But he soon shook the thoughts from his mind when she handed him a towel of his own to dry off with. He realized his wet boxer briefs had clung to his skin; somewhat outlining certain _appendages_ and he prayed she hadn't taken strong notice of anything before he wrapped the towel around his waist.

They walked back to their rooms together in a slightly awkward silence. The sounds of their wet feet slapping against the floor echoed down the hallway as they came to Robin's door. "Well thanks for the race." He muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"Next time we'll have to figure out a way to tell who wins." She smirked.

"Unless I smoke you." He grinned, feeling easy again.

"We'll see." She turned and headed for her own room down the hall as Robin watched her walk away. Her thick, yet slender legs grew more attractive as his eyes followed them up her body, where they were cut off right below her butt by the white towel wrapped around her torso.

"Good god Raven…" He whispered to himself, and to his panic she turned back around.

"What?"

"Uh, goodnight Raven."

"Goodnight Robin." She nodded and stepped into her room.

Her heart was still pounding by the time she got her swimsuit off and pulled on her pajamas. Her mind almost couldn't process everything that had happened just moments early, and she didn't want it to. She didn't want to overthink their actions, just remember how they made her feel. As she crawled into bed and laid on her side, she couldn't stop herself from imagining Robin crawling in behind her and wrapping his arm around her, coaxing her to sleep. She tried to imagine what his weight would feel like pressed against her – his face buried in her skin as he cradled her into sleep. If she could handle the closeness they had just shared in the pool, then maybe she _could_ handle taking it one step further.

 _But this is Robin,_ she thought, confused by what she was feeling. _I can't let myself take advantage of him._ He was her friend; he was her leader. He was looking out for her, and having these thoughts about him was no way to repay him. _It's just an aftereffect,_ she convinced herself. _Tomorrow it'll be like nothing happened._

Though her brain felt swarmed with apprehension and desire, eventually her mind settled and Raven drifted off to sleep, accompanied briefly by an image of Robin's arm wrapping snugly around her.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Raven sipped her tea at the kitchen counter while the others debated what activity to partake in. It had been a week since her incident with Robin in the pool and while they weren't unfriendly to each other, neither of them had spoken directly to the other since, and it was quite clear to both of them that they were avoiding each other. Much to Robin's shame, he couldn't stop having dirty thoughts about Raven and constantly hanging around her didn't help the fantasies to go away. He knew his heightened sexual reactions were normal for a guy like him, especially after what had happened in the pool, but he still felt guilty and disrespectful towards his teammate. He had felt varying amounts of attraction to Starfire before, but never to the same extent that he now felt for Raven. Somehow, Raven had begun to dominate his mind and he wasn't particularly thrilled about it.

From what Robin could see in Raven's cool attitude, she didn't seem to have been affected at all, but if he ever got the chance to pick up on what was going through her mind, he would know how wrong he really was. Raven was in turmoil: terrified by her growing attraction to Robin and scared of how it would affect their friendship. So far she still managed to keep her powers under control despite her worry and new sense of infatuation, but she didn't know how long it would be until her shields started to crumble. Wherever he was, she wanted to be close to him. If they were all sitting on the couch, she felt the desire to sit next to him. If they were working out in the gym, she wanted to make sure she was in a spot that he could see her from. And though she was good at suppressing these impulses, she was also becoming disturbed by the idea that she couldn't function on her own anymore. What if it only got worse? What if she became way too attached? That wasn't a good look for her; she needed to be independent and it felt like Robin had drilled a tiny hole in her individuality that was slowly growing bigger every day. Not that she was mad at him. She knew he wasn't doing this to her on purpose. She just needed to get her head clear after what happened and apparently he felt the same way.

"We could play volleyball on the roof." Beast Boy finally suggested.

"Oh, Yes!"

"It is a beautiful day out."

"You want to play Rae?" Cyborg asked and the four of them all glanced at her simultaneously.

"Okay."

All of them except Robin did double takes.

"You do?" Beast Boy's jaw hung slightly open. "But you never want to have fun."

 _That's not true._ "I don't have to play if you–"

"No!" Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin cut her off and Cyborg slapped his hand over Beast Boy's mouth. "I'll get the net." He grinned.

As the five of them walked up to the roof to set up, Raven tried to mentally prepare herself. If she could just keep calm and not get too worked up, maybe she could stay in control and maybe even be able to feel like she did in her dreams. As nervous as she was, she knew that if she was ever going to start feeling like a normal person, she would have to push out of her comfort zone and try.

She looked at Robin's back as she followed behind him, hoping he couldn't feel her anxiety. She knew she wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't talked to her that night by the pool and, in a way, she also felt like she was doing this for him – to prove to him that she valued his encouragement.

As Cyborg and Robin set up the net, they decided to group Robin, Starfire, and Raven on one team with Cyborg and Beast Boy on the other.

"Alright Raven – now you know you can't use your powers." Beast Boy wagged a finger at her.

Starfire looked at him. "But you use your powers all the time."

"Yeah, but I can't levitate objects with my mind."

"Can she not at least fly? You and I fly in order to volley the ball."

"Star's got a point B." Cyborg nodded. "Besides, it's her first game."

"Ugh," Beast Boy wiped his hand over his face, "fine – you can fly – but if I catch any dark-magic-voodoo style volleyball, I'm calling it."

She held two fingers lazily in the air. "Scouts honor." She griped.

But as the game got going, Raven chose not to fly. She wanted to show the others that she could play just as well as they could, even if it was more challenging. Starfire covered the front; since she was the tallest and could fly, it was the easiest for her to block, while Robin and Raven covered the two back corners. Raven felt the others' surprise at how well she managed to dig the ball, even when Cyborg and Beast Boy whipped it as hard as they could, although the overall game wasn't as easy as she thought. She worked up a sweat and couldn't spike the ball as well as the others could, but she focused on her surroundings observantly, knowing exactly where the ball was going to land almost every time, and used every opportunity she got to set the ball for Robin and Starfire.

When the game was over, Robin, Raven and Starfire had won by four points (which Cyborg credited to the fact that they had three players) but Raven was more pleased over the self-control she was able to hold than she was about the actual win. The others complimented her game, cracking jokes that she was secretly a professional athlete, and just like in her dream Raven could feel her very own sense of bliss as a result. But as the others started laughing and growing more enthusiastic, their emotions started to become overwhelming and Raven knew that she had to calm down. She lifted her hood over her head and turned to leave the roof.

"Friend, where are you going?" Starfire called after her. "Do you not wish to partake in the traditional 'rubbing in the face' ceremony?"

"Maybe later."

They watched her disappear from the roof and although Robin spent a few moments trying to convince himself that she would be fine, he couldn't stop himself from following her down into the tower, even though he knew he was supposed to be spacing himself from her He stepped out of the elevator and found her back in the kitchen making herself another cup of tea.

"You were great." He smiled and she looked up at him surprised, dipping a tea bag in her hot water.

"Thank you."

He sat down at the counter and started playing with a napkin. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." She stated. "Maybe even a little better than fine." She walked over to stand next to him, leaning her hip against the counter for balance. "I wouldn't have tried it if we hadn't talked," she stared down into her mug "so thank you for that."

Robin felt gladdened by her words. He was thankful that they could still talk openly and maturely with each other even if there was sexual tension. He knew now was the right time to apologize.

"Raven, about that night, I'm sorry if I crossed a line." He saw her cheeks start to burn up.

"No, you didn't. I think we both just got carried away in the moment."

"Right." He nodded. _Except I still feel carried away._

There was a small, peaceful silence as Raven sipped her drink and Robin felt the creeping urge to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her in closer. His hand started to move in her direction when the alarm sounded, blaring through the tower and snapping him out of his actions.

The team congregated in the common room and gave a collective sigh looking at the computer monitor. Plasmus was wreaking havoc in town again. Cyborg drove Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy to the scene while Robin chose to take his motorcycle. From the front seat, Raven watched the boy wonder speed ahead in front of them. _These feelings,_ she thought, _they'll go away in time._

* * *

Plasmus had grown bigger since the last time they fought him. Whatever he'd been eating seemed to only make him more angry and disgusting. He spat some toxic waste in Robin's direction, but Raven blocked it with a shield before it could reach its target. She then formed a number of dark matter platforms with her powers that he used as stairs to get to higher ground. He jumped above Plasmus and whipped a handful of exploding disks down at the monster, while Starfire battered him with starbolts from the other side. His gooey skin liquefied from the attack – his body appearing to melt into the street before reforming. Beast Boy, in the form of a pterodactyl, flew towards Plasmus with Cyborg in his talons as he blasted through the purple muck with his sonic canon while Starfire continued to fire starbolts left and right.

This went on for a good ten minutes. As much as they hit him with, Plasmus kept reforming quicker and quicker each time and Raven stood back to observe the situation, looking for another solution. "You have any ideas?" She asked Robin, who had worked his way back around to fight next to her.

"I'm trying. He's not usually this resilient." He called back and looked around for something that might help them, but let himself get distracted for too long as a glob of Plasmus gunk barreled into his chest and knocked him backwards. Raven looked around for something to distract him with and used her powers to break open a fire hydrant. As Robin recovered, he watched her levitate a manhole cover out of the street and hold it against the spewing water to direct it back at Plasmus, thoroughly soaking him. Following her lead, Robin used the opportunity to throw a special birdarang at him that exploded and froze on impact. He threw another as Raven continued to pummel him with water and soon Plasmus had become entirely encased in ice, unable to squeeze out and slide away.

"Star! Cyborg! Give him one last shot." Robin yelled out and the two aimed their arms at the frozen villain, firing at the same time and blasting him into a million pieces, leaving nothing but the shivering sleeping human he'd once been.

* * *

After they helped clean up the street that Plasmus had wrecked, the sun had started to set by the time the Titans returned to the tower. They were all exhausted. Raven's clothes were still wet from the water and clung tightly to her body. Her hair was still trickling droplets down onto her skin. The team separated and went to their individual rooms to recover, except Robin who went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. The feeling that there were still bits of Plasmus under his nails and in his ears made him want to shudder.

He stripped down and turned on the faucet, waiting for the water to get steaming hot before stepping in. He soaked his hair and let the water run down his back, craning his neck around to stretch his muscles and get all the dirt and grime off of his body. Despite his best intentions, he couldn't stop visions of Raven from floating back into his mind: images of her in the little black bikini, her limbs stretching next to him as they played volleyball, the wetness on her skin as they beat Plasmus. He squeezed some shampoo into his hand and began rubbing it into his hair. Soon enough he pictured what it would be like if they were her hands instead – rubbing his scalp and smoothing down over his back – lathering him up. She kissed his wet skin, pressing her own steamed body against his, and nipping at the bottom of his ear seductively.

BANG BANG BANG. He jumped as someone rapped on the bathroom door.

"Duude, hurry it up in there!" Beast Boy's voiced whined from outside. "You're not the only one who wants to use the bathroom."

Robin sighed and rinsed off the rest of the suds. He was so tired; he just needed some rest and maybe his mind would stop wandering. He dried off and wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror, picturing just one more time that Raven was with him, teasing and tempting him. After he went to his room and changed, he collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to pull out the covers. With his cheek pressed against the mattress, he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

As Robin walked into the pool room, he caught Raven's figure just like the first night, only this time she was sitting at the edge of the pool. She was all by herself, looking straight down into the water. He called out to her, but she didn't seem to hear him, so he began walking over to sit down next to her. Only before he could reach her, her body lifted up and slid down into the water with a plunk. He observed the water, waiting for her to surface, but a few seconds passed and nothing happened. The water didn't stir or ripple, but instead remained eerily still. He began to panic. He called out for her, trying to get as much as a glimpse of something beneath the water, but everything appeared blurry. He dove into the pool, looking every which way for her beneath the water, but there was nothing. He frantically brushed his palms across the entire floor of the pool, coming up now and again for air, but it was clear that she had disappeared. And something inside him knew that she wasn't coming back.

* * *

Robin awoke in a cold sweat. Laying in the complete darkness of his room, it took him a moment to figure out where he was. _Just a dream,_ he thought, but a large part of him couldn't shake it off. Remnants of the panic that had struck him in the dream continued to throb in his chest. He got up go wash his face in the bathroom, but stalled halfway down the hallway. Instead he turned and walked to Raven's room. If he could confirm with his own eyes that she was fine, then it would help immensely. He knocked on her door, waiting for it to crack open, but there was no stirring inside. His nervousness only increased. He knocked louder, but again nothing happened. He decided to go straight to the pool.

As he ran through the double doors, there she was – sitting on the ledge just like in his dream, only she looked a bit more relaxed and more like herself. She wore a clean white robe over her swimsuit.

"Raven!" He yelled and her body jerked from being startled.

"What? What happened?" She jumped up and rushed over to him. "What's wrong?" He looked so pale – even for her standards – and she quickly grew scared for him.

"Don't go in the water!" He shook, reaching for her arm.

"Why what's wrong with the water?"

"I don't know – it's dangerous."

She looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"I had a dream that you went in the water and I couldn't find you." It began to dawn on him how ridiculous he sounded, but he couldn't stop. "I tried, but you disappeared."

"…Is that it?" She cocked an eyebrow. "All this because you dreamt you lost a game of Marco Polo? You almost gave me a heart attack."

"It wasn't Marco Polo. You actually physically disappeared."

"In your dream…"

"Well…yeah."

She sighed and put her hands on her waist. "You think you might be overreacting? It was just a dream Robin."

"I know…I know it was – but it felt so real – and then when I went to check on you, you weren't there so it only freaked me out more…"

"You're lucky I didn't lose control when you came in. I could've cracked the whole pool in two from the way you were acting." She chastised him, but at the same time she felt kind of pleased that she worried him so easily.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He wiped his palms over his face, embarrassed from his actions. "I'll go now."

"Wait," she said, resting her hand on his shoulder, "I'll walk you back to your room." She could still feel the leftover fear in his chest; it throbbed, ached, and stung all at the same time and she didn't feel good letting him leave in such a state. "If it makes you feel any better, I already went in the pool and – as you can see – I'm still here."

He smiled blushing and felt her hand on the small of his back as they walked back to his room together. Her long, flowing robe swept against the ground like a ghost. As his heart rate steadily declined, he began to realize how tired he still was and his dream only left him more exhausted. When they got to his room, she came in and made him lay down on the bed. Although he'd calmed significantly, his face still appeared pale so she grabbed a water bottle from his mini fridge and made him drink. He laid flat on his back and closed his eyes as she sat on the edge of his bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of her robe.

"Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?" She asked, looking around his room. There were clothes and papers strewn all over his floor.

"Uh, huh." He moaned quietly and the same fatigue from before began to overtake him once again as Raven started tidying up his room. She threw his discarded clothes in the hamper and shuffled some stray papers together.

"You know–" She started, but then turned around to see that he was already completely out of it. His head tilted back, exposing his neck, and his chest was rising and falling with steady rhythm. She could hear every exhale that came from him.

Not wanting to disturb him anymore, she turned to leave his room, but something stopped her. She took one last glance over his body and before she knew it, she had moved to the side of his bed and leaned down to his face. Though her conscience was screaming at her not to, she kissed him lightly on the corner of the mouth – gentle enough as not to wake him – and then spun quickly to get out as fast as she could, not realizing that he was actually still awake to feel it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

Robin woke up early the next morning, well rested and stretching his limbs happily as he remembered the fact that he had felt Raven kiss him the night before. Though he had been sleepy, he couldn't mistake her breath tickling his cheek and the feeling of her face so close to his as she bent down. Her lips had been soft and dry, grazing his own for just a second before pulling away. What did it mean? Was it just an impulse, or was she trying to tell him something? Was she feeling the same way about him as he was about her? The idea enthralled him. If she really did think and feel the same, then it certainly lightened the guilt that he'd been feeling for the past week. He didn't feel so bad having dirty thoughts about her if it meant that she was having dirty thoughts about him too. In fact, he kind of liked the idea of her thinking about him like that. As he brushed his teeth in the bathroom, he realized that maybe he was overthinking it – it was just a small kiss, chaste – but then again, this was Raven. She wasn't the kind of person who went around handing out kisses.

He stopped in the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and laid the newspaper out on the counter while he waited for it to brew, flipping page after page, though he couldn't focus on anything it said. His mind was engulfed by Raven. Eventually as the others came down for breakfast one by one he anticipated Raven's entrance, wondering if she'd treat him any differently. Of course she was the last to come down, but well worth the wait in Robin's mind.

She took a seat at the table, appearing as though nothing was different, but that didn't dampen Robin's spirits. He took the seat next to her, acting just as nonchalantly. _She thinks she can get away with this,_ he thought, _but two can play._ Slowly, he moved his leg so that it rested against hers. The brushing contact of his pants against her bare skin caused her to look up at him, but he ignored her, taking a sip of his coffee and pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary. She dismissed it and shifted her leg away an inch, only to have him move his leg right along with hers so that they stayed touching. She looked up at him again – noticeably confused this time – but again he didn't flinch. _What is this,_ she thought, _is he flirting with me?_

At that moment, the alarm went off.

"What already?" Beast Boy moaned sleepily. "I didn't even get to have breakfast yet."

The others moaned along with him, but Robin stiffened from the sound. Although he detested the sound of the alarm with the others, he never let himself dismiss it or become flippant over a threat to the city. He hurried to the computer, locating the threat on the Titans' GPS and hacking into the street cameras to find the Hive attempting to rob a jewelry store.

* * *

When they arrived at the scene, the Hive were about ready to make their escape. As soon as the Titans had surrounded them, Jinx sent out a wave of bad luck, reverberating off the buildings and roads, causing the ground to shake beneath them.

"Split them up." Robin instructed, and each Titan paired off with a Hive member.

Eventually, as each individual battle worsened, the Titans grew more and more distanced from each other as their fights led them into different parts of the city. Starfire chased Mammoth into the heart of the city, while Cyborg and Gizmo messed with each other by the park. Beast Boy had charged See-More across the downtown bridge, rhino-style, with Robin and Jinx facing off by the docks. Raven had it the hardest, having to track down Billy Numerous and all his clones, who fled down different alleys in multiple directions.

Jinx was making it difficult for Robin to get close to her. She kept whipping out curses that were difficult to dodge and would knock him off his feet, but with a few smoke bombs he managed to sneak his way close enough to get behind her. They engaged in short hand-to-hand combat, in which Robin easily over powered her and knocked her to the ground, but before he could manage to subdue her she hit him with one last powerful spell that hit him directly in the chest. The force of it knocked the wind out of him and hurled him backwards, his body landing forcefully in the bay as Jinx quickly fled in the other direction.

As he sunk to the floor of the bay, he felt his feet touch the sand at the bottom and pushed off to propel himself back up, but jerked back downwards as his ankle got caught in something sharp. The dirt and darkness of the water kept him from seeing what he'd gotten caught on, but as he bent down to try and free himself, he felt that a metal hook or ring of some sort had somehow fastened around his ankle and kept him anchored to the bay floor. He tried to shift his foot to try and slide out of it but he was taking too long. His ankle screamed with pain, possibly broken, but he couldn't get it to twist out of the hook the same way he's gotten into it. He could feel his lungs running out of air and that fact that he couldn't see anything in front of him didn't help. It felt like he had been fighting underwater for almost a full minute. His body went into panic mode. He pulled and pulled but nothing came loose. _Get out, get out, get out!_ His mind screamed over and over again. The fear made his heart feel like it was going to explode. His lungs were burning out of his chest. His conscious started to fade in and out. _This is it. I'm not gonna make it._ He choked on the water surrounding him as his vision completely blacked out.

It was at that moment that Raven dove into the water with a speed she had never reached before. As she had been trying to corner all the Billy Numerous clones together, she suddenly felt an extreme panic and fear overcome her and it didn't take longer than a second for her to realize that Robin was in trouble. Her instincts kicked in almost immediately. She sensed exactly where he was and what he was thinking as if he was calling out to her directly, like a psychic communicator. With a speed she didn't even know she had, she warped herself in the direction of the bay, allowing the Billies to get away. She didn't think to call the others; there wasn't any time. She could practically feel the air diminishing in his lungs and the desperation for help increasing. _Just hang on Robin I'm coming. Just please hang on._ When she reached the dock she dove straight in, thrusting through the water where she sensed his body struggling, but as she reached him, water had already entered his lungs and she saw his body go limp from unconsciousness, though she could still feel his heartbeat.

She used her powers to bend the metal around his ankle in the other direction and kicked off the bottom of the bay to send them both soaring to the surface. His body still unconscious upon reaching air, she levitated him back to the wooden dock and began giving him CPR. She pumped harshly on his chest with her palms and lowered her face to his, giving him mouth-to-mouth. She couldn't remember ever being this frightened before, almost like she couldn't breathe herself. _Come on Robin, don't do this to me. Don't leave me._

She continued giving him mouth-to-mouth, blowing as much air into him as she could possibly muster until finally, after what seemed like the longest moment of her entire life, she felt his body jerk beneath hers and he rose to cough up the water from his lungs. She beat his back with her hand, trying to help him get all the water out and he gasped for more air. He vomited up all the liquid he could before collapsing. She pulled him into her arms and held his body tightly against her own, rubbing his back and trying to calm him. She whispered things in his ear while his body shuddered over and over again in her arms.

"It's okay. You're safe. Everything's okay." She felt like she was telling herself just as much as she was trying to tell him. "I've got you. You're safe with me." He started to sob into her chest. The panic had overwhelmed him. The realization that he had almost just drowned strangled and petrified him. She tried to shush him and rub his limbs into relaxing but he continued to shake like a leaf beyond his own control, so she placed her palms to the sides of his head and used her powers to tire him, eventually coaxing him into a calmed state.

She wrapped her cloak around them both and transported them straight back to the tower where she carried him to the med lab and leaned him against one of the beds. She grabbed some extra clothes from one of the storage closets and started to strip him of his sopping wet uniform. She pulled the damp shirt up over his head and worked him into a fresh one, his limbs still limp. She held up his shoulders and looked away towards the corner of the room as he managed to clumsily undo the lower half of his outfit and slip on the fresh pants she'd laid out. Raven then helped him up onto the bed and hooked him up to heart monitors. His heart beat was still erratic he was still visibly shaken up. She tried to calm him by taking a towel and slowly rubbing it over his head to help dry his hair, though she knew it wouldn't help him much. She felt awful – first Robin has a nightmare about her drowning, and now he almost drowns himself – she wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to go near water again. And to think, just this morning they were playing around and flirting like kids.

Without telling him, she tried to focus her powers and psychically lull him into sleep to get his heart rate back to normal, which finally took effect after long amounts of concentration. She left the med lab to change out of her own wet uniform and when she came back to check on him, the other Titans had entered the tower, returning from their own battles.

"Yo, you want to tell us what happened to you guys?" Cyborg snorted angrily.

"Yeah, Jinx and Billy Numerous got away! If you guys needed help you could've just called instead of ditching us." Beast Boy crossed his arms in frustration while Starfire looked around.

"Where is Robin?" She asked.

Raven took a breath, trying to figure out exactly how to tell them. "Robin almost drowned–"

"What?!" The others cried in unison, their attitudes suddenly altered.

"–He's alright. I gave him CPR and he's resting now, but he's had a shock."

"Woah." Cyborg rubbed the back of his head guiltily and Starfire rushed towards the med lab.

"Robin!" She called as she entered into the med lab and he woke with a start. The others followed in shortly after her.

"You alright man?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." He sweated uncomfortably.

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes tell us; Jinx did this to you?" Starfire's eyes began to glow green.

Robin rubbed the sweat from his forehead. "She didn't mean to. I got hooked on something in the water." As much as he understood their concern, Robin didn't want to relive the experience so soon. Just talking about it made him shake. "Listen guys, I could really use some rest. Maybe we could talk about this later."

Cyborg didn't look pleased. "Are you sure? I mean maybe we should–"

"–I'm fine. I just want to be alone for a little while."

"Oh yes, you must rest and regain your strength." Starfire agreed and pushed the others out of the med lab. But Raven didn't feel quite right about leaving him. He wouldn't make eye contact with any of them. He was trying to seclude himself, and she didn't like the idea of him being alone so soon, but nonetheless she listened to him and left to give him space with the others.

* * *

"Is he gonna be alright?" Beast Boy looked worried.

"He'll be okay. He just needs some time." Cyborg scanned the computer, looking for signs of the missing Hive members.

Raven left them and washed her face in the bathroom. She herself had been shaken up by the events as well. The last time Robin had gotten this close to dying was from the powder in Slade's mask – the night their bond had been created. But even then she hadn't been able to help him. The illusions of Slade had only jerked her out of his mind and she was forced to abandon him to fight on his own. She never wanted him to have to suffer like that again. She may have been able to save him this time, but she knew that the fight wasn't over for him. She could so easily feel the turmoil still crashing around inside of him and it made her sick.

She couldn't even imagine what she would do if Robin had actually died – she'd never recover. Robin was her best friend and she was becoming more and more protective of him every day. She knew then that she would do everything she could to help him get through the pain, whether he wanted her help or not.

After giving him a few more hours to rest, she opened the door to the med lab and upon seeing him she could tell that he hadn't rested at all.

"I'd still like to be alone Rae." His voice grinded.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Could you just give me a minute?" He was getting more and more irritated.

She sighed, unhappy about displeasing him. "No."

She sat on the edge of his mattress and moved her hands towards him. "Just let me…" She whispered as she laid her palms against his temples once again and tried to absorb the pain resting in his mind. She could feel the fear and agitation running through her. It was awful. She hated it more than anything that he was experiencing all of this, but she didn't stop until she could sense that the trepidation had left his mind. He leaned into her touch, soothed by the feeling of his anxiety slowly leaving him. Once she was able to pacify him again he leaned back and relaxed into the bed more comfortably, closing his eyes. She waited for him to speak.

"I didn't think I was going to make it." He whispered.

"I know. I felt how scared you were. That's how I knew you were in trouble."

"And you saved me."

"…Yes – I tried."

"Thank you." He remembered her holding onto him after she'd revived him.

She didn't know exactly what to say to make him feel better – she wasn't good at pep talks like he was – but she knew how to say what was on her mind.

"You're a very strong man Robin. This shock that you're experiencing – it's normal – it doesn't mean you're any weaker."

"I know." He sighed.

"Then I want you to promise me that you'll let me help you. If you have nightmares, if you start experiencing signs of PTSD, even if you just feel lonely, I want you to promise me that you'll find me and let me help."

He smirked at her and laughed. "Raven… I'll be fine. I'm just a little upset right now, but you don't have to worry about me." But he could see she wasn't joking. Her body was stiff, her expression straight, and her voice grainier than usual. He'd never seen her look so protective before and the realization quieted him. "You've done enough already Rae."

"No, I need you to promise me. My powers…I can help with those things. There's absolutely no reason you should suffer." She looked away from him and her eyes started to water. "I was scared too you know." She tried to make her voice hard again. "There have been times where I can feel you slipping away from us and I feel like there's nothing I can do about it. And I never want to feel like that again. So promise me."

The incident had scared her more than he thought. He didn't think it was going to cause him long-term trouble, but Raven clearly thought otherwise. He didn't like seeing her like this. He was supposed to be the one that eased her fears, not the other way around. Perhaps she could see something that he couldn't, or perhaps the incident had frightened her enough to make her more paranoid. She seemed truly afraid that that the whole thing was going to take a large emotional toll on him and that he was going to close himself off from the others. And he really couldn't blame her – he'd done it multiple times before when they only wanted to help. He wasn't keen on the idea of unloading his problems on Raven, but if keeping her close meant it'd make her feel better again, then he didn't have much to lose.

"Okay, I promise." He told her.

"Thank you." She looked away from him. "I know you think I'm probably overreacting. But all the things you've been through – all the memories you've shown me in the past – all that trauma can build up over time and weigh down on you. Some people crack from the things they try to forget, especially when they try to deal with it on their own. And I never want that to happen to you. I know you're strong enough, but that doesn't mean I can't try and lighten some of the load for you."

He pushed some hair behind her ear so he could get a better look at her face and ran the backs of his fingers down her back. "I think I'm ready to get up now." He whispered.

She nodded and unhooked the heart monitors from his chest. When the two of them walked into the common room, Cyborg was making dinner in the kitchen while Beast Boy and Starfire tried to debate what to watch on TV. They all looked up at him.

"Are you feeling in higher spirits Robin?" Starfire floated over to him.

"Yeah I think so."

"Good, 'cause I made my granny's homemade mac and cheese recipe. It'll pick you right back up." Cyborg called as he bent down to open the oven door.

"Sounds good." He smiled lightly, but couldn't help asking. "Did anyone find anything on Jinx?"

"Dude, don't worry about Jinx." Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "We'll worry about the Hive later, but for now you should sit and watch TV with us." The others nodded along with him and Robin knew he had to listen to them. It wasn't that he was really worried about the Hive – they hadn't done anything extremely terrible – he just didn't like having loose ends. "What do you want to watch dude?" Beast Boy waved the remote in the air from the couch, distracting him.

"Anything."

They crowded on the couch together and ate dinner while they flicked through the channels and ended up watching some dumb sitcom, but Robin was just glad that he was starting to feel at home again. Though his body still felt on edge and the events of the day continued to hammer at the back of his mind, he still felt safer than he had all day, being squished comfortably between the others. Halfway through the show he felt something push against his thigh. He looked down to see that Raven had pressed her leg against his just as he'd done to her that morning at breakfast. When he looked over at her, she kept her eyes trained forward on the screen, seemingly clueless. He smiled knowingly and let her keep it there as he settled back into the couch.

One by one, the others began to drift off as the night grew older and Robin turned off the TV, encouraging everyone to go to bed. They all got into the elevator, with Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy getting off on the second floor up, and Raven and Robin exiting on the third to go to their rooms. Robin paused at his doorway, not knowing how well he'd be able to sleep that night. There were still little shivers that went through his body every now and then when he thought about the bay. The pain in his ankle still throbbed and felt sharp whenever he walked on it, making it hard for him to stop thinking about it. All of a sudden he felt achy.

As Raven passed him on the way to her own room, she paused to watch him, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Robin?" She asked.

He looked up at her, not realizing how long he'd been standing there. Maybe this was what she was talking about. This feeling that he suddenly wasn't the same guy. This weird pit in his stomach that he didn't know how to get rid of, even though he knew that the danger was over. This was what she wanted him to talk to her about so he didn't have to deal with it by himself. And he had to keep his promise.

"I don't feel right." He told her, somewhat ashamed of how much like a child he sounded.

Without saying a word, Raven strode into her own room and came back out a few seconds later with a pillow and blanket in her arms. She opened his door and motioned for him to follow her inside where she threw her pillow next to his on the bed and laid down on one side, covering herself with the blanket. Hesitantly, he joined her on the bed, crawling under the large cover and turning to face her. Though they weren't touching, he could feel the heat coming off her body next to him. It was that safe feeling again – the one he felt when they were all squeezed together on the sofa. He now realized how thankful he was that she'd made him promise to keep her close like this. How she knew that this was going to happen so soon, he couldn't comprehend, but he was glad that she had made him take it seriously instead of trying to brush it off like he would have done. It was so much easier this way – just to have her lying next to him – it was so simple, yet so much better than being alone at that moment.

"I'm sorry I told you that you were overreacting to your dream." She whispered. "You were right. The water is dangerous. Except this time it was me who almost lost you."

"No, the dream was still wrong. If it was true then you would have lost me, but you didn't – you came right to me, right when I needed you."

She twiddled the blanket between her fingers "I always plan to."

His heart thumped beneath the covers as he leaned over and kissed her on the corner of the mouth, just as she had done to him the night before. Raven closed her eyes, absorbed once again in the feeling of his face pressed against her own, but her cheeks began to redden madly upon the realization that 1) he had just kissed her, and 2) he had been awake when she had kissed him. His flirting with her that morning had suddenly made so much more sense to her now.

Loving her obvious reaction, Robin moved in closer, getting her to rest her head against his chest while he wrapped an arm around her and pressed his mouth to the top of her head, breathing her in. Although she was nervous beyond belief, Raven allowed herself to press back up against him, listening to his heart beat and realizing that it was beating just as fast as hers. She wrapped an arm around him as well – pulling him in tighter – yearning to go further, but forcing herself to take it slow and not overwhelm herself.

"How did you know that this would happen – that I'd feel like this tonight?" He whispered into her hair and he felt her shift a little in his grasp.

"Because it's you," she yawned into him, "and I just knew." She closed her eyes and let herself take in the feeling of his warmth. "You don't just get over things like this. They have to do a number on you before you can move on and heal."

They talked quietly through the night, mostly about little things, but all of it made Robin feel peaceful again. With Raven flush against him – their legs nearly intertwined – he let his limbs fall limp. The aches in his mind and body began to soothe and although a large part of him wanted to stay awake, his vision began to fade from exhaustion and he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **AN:** Just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful reviews so far. You guys are so sweet and it means so much to me that you're enjoying this story.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans :)

* * *

The next morning Robin was the first to wake up. As he stirred sleepily, he felt Raven's body still pressed up against his own. She had flipped over some time through the course of the night and her back now lay flush against his torso. His arm draped lazily over her body as her steady breathing moved it slowly up and down. He was tempted to wrap himself around her a little tighter, but ditched the idea completely when he realized that the erection he'd grown was already threatening to touch her. He shifted away from her, trying desperately not to wake her, and grabbed a towel as he headed to the bathroom for a shower.

His mind glanced over the night before as he let the cool water rinse off the dirt and grime from his skin. Part of him was worried. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. There was no doubt in his mind that he was attracted to Raven and that he craved her comfort, but he was unsure of where to draw the line. He didn't want things to get out of control and end up hurting Raven in the process. A large pit formed in his stomach when he imagined himself ruining their friendship and severing their bond. He cleaned his hair and scrubbed his body over one more time before drying off and returning to his room to change. He opened the door slowly, trying not to wake Raven, but when he entered he saw that she was already gone.

She had been awoken by a chill that had entered as he left for the bathroom and she realized that the sudden coldness had been due to the loss of his body heat around her. She wasn't surprised. He was always the first one to wake up and could never sit still once he had. She stretched her limbs out, cracking her knees and shoulders as the sun blasted in through his window. She fixed up his bed for him and left his room to go to the bathroom, but realized shortly after that he was already inside when she heard the shower running from behind the door, so she returned to her own room instead to change.

Eventually, they reunited in the kitchen for breakfast. Raven put together some oatmeal and fruit for them both as an awkward silence settled between them. Robin tapped his fingers against the counter, trying to figure out the right way to convey his thoughts to her.

"I'm sorry if I got too chummy again last night." He started.

Raven looked up at him as she lowered the tea from her lips. "I'm not upset about it. It's not like I'm repulsed by you, you know." But she regretted saying it. She could see the confusion in his eyes. His facial expression gave away that he was struggling to find what words to say next. _He's scared. It's too fast._ She realized. She put her cup down and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. _Maybe he's right to be worried._

In her daydreams, getting serious with Robin sounded great, but perhaps she was kidding herself. Actual relationships, whether they be romantic or just sexual, were a lot more difficult than the ones she read about in her books. She knew that. Not to mention that she still didn't have the amount of control over her powers she felt she needed in order to do anything that serious. Plus, a large part of her didn't want to take the chance of destroying their friendship, especially when Robin was still so vulnerable from the accident and was relying on her for support.

"Maybe we should be more careful." She said and his eyes widened a bit in surprise. "I'll admit that I enjoyed last night. I like having you close to me, but if you think it might get out of control – that we'll end up doing something we shouldn't – perhaps we should try and take it back a notch."

"I think I agree with you." He rested his elbows on the counter and placed him head in his palms tiredly. "I know this isn't fair of me – that I keep drawing you in close and then distance myself the next day. It's like when we get close … it makes me feel better, but when it's over I start overthinking and I'm afraid that I'm pushing my luck or that I'm doing something I shouldn't be." He studied the lines in his palms, trying to avoid eye contact with her. "I don't want to ruin what we have."

She nodded slightly in solemn agreement. "Then maybe we should both try to be a bit more … appropriate?"

He chuckled quietly, grateful that Raven was so easy to talk to. "Only a little." He smirked.

It was a bittersweet agreement for both of them. It was extremely rare that Raven ever got to be touched or held in the ways that Robin had done with her, and Robin himself had also reveled in the close contact, but they both knew that skirting the line between friends and romantic interests could have serious consequences – ones they weren't yet willing to risk. They were the two most practical members of the team. They knew how to weigh pros and cons and the answer was staring both of them in the face.

"It's for the best." Raven talked down into her oatmeal.

"Right." He nodded.

* * *

Weeks had passed by and things began looking better for Robin. The team had managed to capture Jinx and Billy Numerous not too long after their escape and retrieved all the stolen jewelry. He was also beginning to feel more like himself after the traumatic events in the bay. He was getting better rest then he had in a long time and the team dynamic had an easier flow than usual. There was really only one thing that still nagged at him – his yearning for Raven's touch. Of course, he had expected this to happen. He knew that deciding to physically distance himself from her didn't mean that his longings would suddenly stop as well, but he thought he'd at least be able to deal with it better. Sometimes he'd get mad at himself for agreeing to slow things down with her – calling himself an ungrateful idiot – but then it was never long before he convinced himself once again that it was the right decision. _This is how it should be._ He told himself over and over.

Though his desires concerning Raven still hadn't ceased, their friendship remained strong. They would still talk to each other often, sometimes even walking into town and getting coffee, especially if Robin needed to clear his head or get something work-related off his mind. He appreciated their friendship and their time together, but Robin could feel himself slowly growing more and more carnal in her presence. At this point, if having sex with her meant that he wouldn't completely throw their partnership into a spiral, he would've been on her in a heartbeat. Sometimes he'd try to replay the memory of her body pressed against his, her hands grazing his skin. It was like his imagination wanted to torment him. But the more he wanted her, the more reasonable he tried to be. _You just want her because now you know for sure you can't have her. It's just a mind game._

One afternoon Robin, Beast Boy and Raven sat on the couch together. The boys watched TV while Raven dug nose deep into a book she was reading. Even though Beast Boy separated them, Robin could see Raven's bare crossed legs out of the corner of his eye. Sometimes when she got restless, the top leg would bounce up and down on top of the other one, waving seductively at him. Of course, Raven had no idea that she was even attracting his attention at all. Her mind was focused on the words in front of her while her body moved instinctively, but still Robin had no idea what was going on in the show they were supposed to be watching. He just wanted Raven to stop tormenting him.

Frustrated that Raven had such an effect on him while he appeared to have little to no effect on her, he left the common room to start a training session in the gym. He punched and kicked a body bag as fast and hard as he could. It didn't seem fair. She was driving him mad without even trying, meanwhile she was completely fine. Her powers appeared under control and she didn't seem under any stress whenever they talked. _Hey, you asked for this,_ he reminded himself, _now you got to take it._ However, Robin didn't realize how misguided he actually was about Raven's indifference. While she may have been a bit better at hiding it, she was distracted by his presence as they sat on the couch and began missing it as soon as he had gotten up to leave. Every now and then he would shift in his spot and she would have to reread whatever sentence she was working on because she was trying to see what he was doing without being obvious. Even when he'd left, she still wasn't able to focus.

The sweat ran down the sides of Robin's face as he finished pummeling the hell out of his punching bag. He exited through the back of the training room, which entered into a hallway that led directly to the pool. He entertained the idea of diving in once just to cool himself off. He stood by the edge and stripped down to his boxer briefs, tossing his clothes aside and crouching down, but as he tried to move his limbs to jump in, he froze. The memory of struggling underwater in the bay flicked though his mind like a hot flash and his heart skipped a beat.

 _What's wrong with me?_ He thought. _It's just a pool – not even the bay. Just jump in. Nothing is going to happen._

But every time he tried to kick his feet from the ground, his body clenched tight and he began to grow nervous. _Why can't I just do this?_

Raven was right. Though he didn't realize it until that moment, the drowning incident had taken a toll on him psychologically. Even the smallest body of water like a pool was scaring him stiff. _This is pathetic. I'm a grown man for Pete's sake._

For a moment he thought maybe he should call Raven. Maybe with her there, he would feel more confident like his normal self. But he dismissed the idea. Raven had done enough for him already and he wanted to prove to himself that he could do it on his own – that he had the courage and mind power already. Yet he stood there for what seemed like forever, like a kid who gets stuck up on the high dive board at the public pool, or a sky diver trying to make their first leap. Except he wasn't on the high dive board, nor was he jumping out of an airplane. Those were much more reasonable things to be afraid of. He sat down on the edge of the pool, defeated and extremely disappointed in himself. He submerged his feet in the water and kicked them back and forth. _At least I can still do this,_ he thought sarcastically.

He stayed by the pool for a half-hour, attempting to will himself into trying again, but got nowhere every time. If he entered from the shallow end, he could at least get into the pool, but the further he tried to go, the more difficult it became. After a while, he got out and put his clothes back on, knowing that the others were probably wondering where he was.

* * *

As often happened, Cyborg didn't feel like cooking anything for dinner and the team went out for pizza instead. They circled around their usual table and debated toppings like they did every time. Robin tried to act in his normal good spirits, but the disappointment and embarrassment inside of him still lingered. He looked up from his menu and saw Raven sitting across from him, giving him a strange look. He couldn't tell what it was – worry, maybe anger? Either way, he was sure she could sense his emotions and she probably wasn't happy that he hadn't come talked to her about it. As they ate, he caught her watching him every now and again, but she would turn her head every time and go back to her food like everything was normal.

He expected her to confront him about it when they returned home, but she hadn't. She went straight to her room as per usual and he worried that maybe she really was mad at him. But the truth was that Raven didn't really know what to do or how to feel. She knew that something had upset him. He promised her that he would talk to her when he felt weird, and she felt dejected that he suddenly wasn't keeping his word. Maybe he needed more time. Maybe he would talk to her, but just wasn't ready for it yet. Part of her wanted to yell at him, but she knew that it wouldn't help in any way and would probably only make him feel worse. Robin had a right to keep his emotions to himself, and though it bothered her to not know what was hurting him, she decided to remain patient with him for a little while longer.

That night, Raven found herself once again unable to sleep well and headed off to the pool for her regular routine. She swam lap after lap, releasing her emotions into the water, oblivious to the world around her. She dunked under and swam around underwater, grazing the bottom of the pool with her fingers. She came up for air and smoothed her hair back, trying to shake some water from her ear when she noticed Robin standing above her, watching her with his hands in his pockets just like the first night he found her. Only this time he didn't look as amused to see her.

"I can't do that." He said. She became confused. She didn't know exactly what he meant but waited for him to continue. "I can't even jump in the fucking pool." She could feel the anger bubbling up inside of him, but decided to remain silent as he went on. "I tried to go in the pool this afternoon and I just froze like an idiot. The last time I froze like that, I was a kid and it was the first trapeze act I had to do after my parents died."

"That's okay Robin." She said quietly.

"I know, but it doesn't feel okay. You don't know how frustrating it is to suddenly not be able to do something that yesterday seemed so simple." He sighed and crouched down to meet her face. "I need you again," he told her, "I need you to make me swim."

She smiled at him reassuringly. "Okay."

"I don't even care how you do it. We can try flooding. You can just stand behind me and push me in."

"I'm not doing that…" She responded, unimpressed. She readjusted her bikini top, trying to think about how to go about helping him. "Go put your swimsuit on." She told him.

When he returned from the changing room properly dressed, she ordered him to try and enter the pool from the shallow end like he had done before. They took it step by step. She held on to his arms and together they walked towards the deep end. He appeared to be doing fine, but soon began to stall at the feeling of the water slowly rising to his throat. The further he tried to go, the more suffocated he became, but he continued to push himself further. When the water had reached the top of his neck, Raven decided to stop and wait for him to adjust to the feeling.

"Let's stay here for a little while." She said and let go of his arms. She began to swim around the middle of the pool and encouraged him to join her. They swam from side to side, where his feet could still touch the bottom if he needed. When his nervousness declined she took it a step further and swam to the deep end.

"Come on." She said. "If you can swim over there, you can swim over here."

He didn't completely appreciate her teasing, but he understood what she was trying to do, although it wasn't the swimming part of it that made him nervous. He hadn't forgotten how to swim; it was just that the water suddenly made him more suffocated than usual. He was now constantly aware about what it could do to him. He swam over to her like she asked, and she noticed that he was purposefully keeping his face from touching the water.

"Go under the water." She said. He paused for a second, realizing that she had figured it out.

"I don't like the submerged feeling." He told her.

"I know; that's why I'm asking you to do it." She dunked her head under the water and came right back up. "Just like that." She instructed. "You can take your time."

He leaned against the pool edge, preparing to slip himself beneath the surface, but every time he tried to push himself down, his mind went into lockdown and refused to let him. Raven could see him struggling with himself. She hated seeing him like this. She didn't need her powers to know how ashamed and helpless he felt. After a while, he still hadn't gone under and she moved towards him to help. She wrapped her arms around his torso.

"We'll do it together real quick. I won't let go."

Though his heart still pounded heavily, he trusted Raven more than he trusted himself in that moment. He let go of the ledge and held on to her instead. He held his breath and she swiftly pulled them both under the surface, bobbing back up in a few seconds.

"Alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah." He responded, breathing heavily. "I want to try again."

"Longer this time, okay?"

He nodded and she pushed her hand up against the bottom of the diving board. They sunk deeper down and tried to hold themselves there longer, then came back up for air and repeated the process over and over again until they finally made it to the floor of the pool. Slowly but surely, he was getting used to it. Eventually, he made her stop so that he could try it on his own and she sat on the ledge, watching him practice.

They did this all night. Raven sat patiently, looking for signs of distress, but he seemed to only be improving. With time, he even began to swim around underwater for short periods until he finally managed to swim down to the bottom of the pool and smack the concrete floor with his hand even as his ears were popping and a hot flash was forming around his head. Raven was proud of his progress, he'd gotten much farther in just hours than she would've imagined – then again it _was_ Robin. When he worked towards something, he showed results.

"Why don't we call it a night?" She cried out towards him as he resurfaced once again. "We can do more tomorrow."

"I already touched the bottom a whole bunch of times. What else is there to do?"

"Diving. You said that you were having trouble jumping in, so we're going to work on that too." She smirked at his vexed expression. "And then once you get the hang of that, we're going to do it all over again in the bay."

He gulped. "That doesn't sound fun."

"We're curing you of your fear. It's not supposed to be fun." He swam over to her and hesitantly began playing with her toes in the water. He pinched her pinkies between his thumbs and pointer fingers, wiggling them back and forth playfully before hooking his palms gently around her calves. She pushed his wet bangs back off his forehead. "You'll get there." She whispered reassuringly.

He lifted himself out of the water next to her and grabbed a towel as Raven walked into the changing room to clean up and rinse off the chlorine. After he dried himself off, he walked in behind her to change as well, and walked in on her brushing her hair. He stood in the door way and watched her for a moment before she noticed and made eye contact with him through the mirror in front of her.

"Thank you for doing this." He said and she gave a small smile in return.

He grabbed his dry clothes and strode into one of the changing stalls. As he passed her, he felt an enormous urge to stop behind her and hold her against him with his hands on the curve of her hips. But he didn't give into his yearning and instead simply closed the door to the stall behind him. As he began to change, he could feel the need to be with her once again creeping in his gut. No matter how much he tried to snuff it down, he couldn't help himself.

"Raven…" He asked carefully.

"Yeah?"

He knew he shouldn't have said anything, but he couldn't stop his brain from forming the words. He wanted to know so badly how she felt. "Staying appropriate … it turned out to be a lot harder than I imagined."

Raven felt her heart start thumping in her chest. Her ego boosted at his words, but at the same time she knew the danger that was hidden in them. What kind of trouble was he trying to start? "It's what we agreed on." She responded cautiously.

"I know," he groaned as he slipped on the rest of his dry clothes and opened the stall door. "I just … it's hard that's all." He scratched his head while she shook out her hair with a towel. "But you seem unaffected … so that's good."

She froze in her place. "Unaffected?" She almost laughed. "Are you kidding? Maybe you've forgotten that I'm a pro at hiding my emotions."

Half of him had needed to hear her say that, but the other half felt terrible about it. "So it's been difficult for you too?"

She looked at him earnestly in the mirror. "Of course it has."

He nodded in understanding, certain that she was telling the truth. "That's all I wanted to know." He said and moved toward her, but she stepped away an inch before he could touch her, eyeing him tiredly.

"I have to be careful." She explained. "We already got pretty close tonight."

He frowned. "I wasn't going to do anything terrible."

"I know, but one thing always leads to another." She defended. "We made this decision together Robin; we have to stick to it."

He looked down at the ground embarrassed at his actions. "You're right." He sighed rubbed the back of his head. "I know you're right."

"I understand what you're feeling. I miss it too, but maybe we've just got big eyes."

He looked up at her confused. "What do you mean?"

"Robin … even if we hadn't made the decision to slow down, I don't think you'd like being with me after a while." She admitted sadly.

He looked at her somewhat offended. "What are you talking about?"

"If we kept going, and things ended up getting more serious than they've already gotten… I don't think I could make you happy."

"You already do." He didn't understand how she could think this way.

"Yeah as a friend, not as anything more."

"Raven …"

"You already know that this subject is hard for me – what I can and can't do at this point in my life." She started to become upset. The insecurities started rolling around in her mind and wouldn't stop. "I know it's ridiculous to already be talking about this, but if you eventually decided that you did want something more – you couldn't have that with me. It just wouldn't be worth it – my powers would make it so hard." He stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "That's why this is for the best. I don't want to end up hurting either of us, emotionally or physically."

He watched her carefully. He didn't like where her thoughts were going. "Are you afraid of becoming too attached?"

She looked him in the eyes, willing him to understand. "I'm already attached. Now I just don't want to ruin everything."

He tried to take in her words fully. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke. "I would never ask you to do something you weren't comfortable with. You should know that by now, Raven."

She shook her head, becoming frustrated at his refusal to see things completely. She couldn't risk it – she just couldn't. It was so much more dangerous in her mind than it was in his. He couldn't foresee the consequences as well as she could because he was too blinded by desire and perhaps even the recent trauma he'd gone through.

"Why are we even talking about this? You said so yourself that you didn't want to ruin what we had." She said with a sharp edge to her tone.

"I know." He threw his arm in the air heatedly, his voice beginning to rise. "I know that I asked for this, but I didn't know at the time that it would be this hard to get over you!"

She paused. "What?"

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I can't stop thinking about you Rae. It's practically torture." He leaned against the counter next to her. "And no matter how hard I try, I don't know what to do or how to stop it."

She wasn't sure how to respond. Did she really have such an effect on him? "So … what exactly is it that you want?"

"I don't know. I just…I want to be able to touch you again. I want to hold you – be there for you. I miss the contact." He touched a strand of her wet hair and watched it slide through his fingers. "Do you really not feel what I feel?" He whispered.

Was he kidding? She thought about it all the time. "…Of course I do."

"And you're just okay with living this way? Wanting each other, but never doing anything about it?"

The fear started to rise up inside of her again. "It's safer this way…"

"So fuck safety!" He yelled, surprising both of them.

"Robin!"

Even though he wanted to remain calm in front of her, he couldn't stop the anger from jerking around in his chest. "I'm serious! You always use your powers as an excuse, but I'm not buying it anymore. I'm not afraid of you Raven – and you shouldn't be either."

She sighed helplessly. "You don't get it."

"Then tell me." His expression became more irritated. "Help me understand."

 _Fine,_ she thought with aggravation. _He wants it straight? I'll tell it to him straight._

"Wouldn't you want to have sex?"

"W…what?" He stammered, blushing almost immediately.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, embarrassed. "Let's say we started spending nights together in your room like the other night…can you honestly say that you wouldn't want things to get more physical?" Her heart jittered as she spoke, but if she had to be blunt to get her point across, then so be it. "Because I would."

"…I would too." He whispered, knowing fully well that such ideas had already crossed his mind.

"And do you realize how frustrating that would be with someone like me? Can you see how I don't want to risk everything just so I can leave you unsatisfied?" She hoped he hadn't noticed her voice crack at the end. "This attraction between us … it started out innocent, but I'm afraid that you'll start to want more than I can give you." She started to pant, exhausted from trying to convey her feelings without losing control. "Do you understand now?"

He turned away from her and started to pace around the changing room frustrated. He understood what she was saying, but he wanted her to see his side of it as well. "But what if this attraction doesn't go away? What are we supposed to do? Just ignore it for the rest of our lives and pretend that everything is platonic? And for the record Raven…" he pointed a finger in her direction, "even if we did start having a serious relationship, I could never feel disappointed from being with you – powers or no powers."

He sat down on one of the wooden benches, hunched over in thought. "I'm not saying that I want to jump into something we're not ready for, it's just that…I don't know how much more of this I can handle." He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "So if you really don't want anything to happen between us, please just tell me Rae – tell me how to stop feeling like this so I can move on."

She watched him sympathetically. "I… I don't know how."

He exhaled loudly, feeling defeated. "Then I won't push the matter any further. We'll continue on with what we agreed. But at least now you know how I feel."

He walked out of the changing room without another word, leaving her there speechless and unsure of how to think or feel.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Robin couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. He was too riled up from his argument with Raven. He felt bad that he had quarreled with her, especially after all she was doing to help him, but he was also frustrated with her. Why couldn't she have more trust in him – and herself for that matter? He felt like she was giving up too easily. He wished that she wanted to fight for them instead of being reasonable. In her mind, it was like they were running into a battle without any shields or weapons, which was stupid and illogical, but he wanted her to be brave – and maybe even a little imprudent. She was always letting her powers scare her off. She had been doing so well when they played volleyball; why couldn't she show a little of that confidence here? Why was it so outrageous that she should try something sexual too?

He knew she was right in that having a sexual relationship wouldn't be easy, but why couldn't she see that it was worth it? If they worked together and stayed honest with each other like they usually did, then they could make it work. He could help her with her powers. It would probably be trying at times, but that didn't scare him off like it did her. Her fear was the thing that stood in the way and he realized that unless she was able to start trusting both herself and him as well, then their relationship didn't stand a chance. He would just have to wait for her to have a change of heart – if she ever had a change of heart. It wasn't just the sexual desire anymore that was nagging at him. He liked everything about her. That was why it was so difficult for him to stop thinking about her. But he wasn't going to force anything on her. He would wait and hope that maybe she'd begin to sway in her stubbornness, and maybe after some time her rock-solid rationality would start to give way and she'd experience the same tremendous longing that he did.

They didn't talk to each other at breakfast that morning. Robin looked through the newspaper and ate his eggs while Raven tried to remain focused on her toast, both of them still recovering from the night before.

"You are very quiet this morning Robin." Starfire noted as the rest of the team sat down at the table.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He responded coolly without looking up from the paper.

Though Raven's façade was inexpressive and nonchalant as usual, something inside Robin told him that she was hurting too. She didn't like that they had fought and she felt just as awful about it as he did. Part of him wanted to apologize, but he was also still aggravated from their conversation and the fact that he hadn't gotten any rest. He still hadn't swayed in his opinion and he didn't want to take the chance of beginning another argument if he went to go talk to her again so soon.

Raven massaged the skin around her eyes. She was still confused over what had happened. She hadn't realized that she was causing Robin so much unhappiness by trying to keep apart, but she honestly thought she had been doing the right thing. She thought it was what he wanted, but now he had made it quite clear that that was no longer true. Like him, she also yearned to be close again, but now she felt that Robin was so much readier for it than she was. Even though she wanted to be close to him, the guilt that she was experiencing made her feel pressured. The fear of not being good enough continued to hang over her head like a noose and she couldn't escape it. She felt like she had been split in half. One side of her just wanted to be with Robin while the other side tried to choke her with fear over it.

The fact that Robin was still angry with her wounded Raven. She didn't think she had done anything wrong, and yet her actions had clearly frustrated him. Her words last night had upset him and even though she felt blindsided by his attitude, she felt the need to apologize. If it meant that it would make Robin feel better, then it was worth it. She couldn't stand the idea of him drifting apart from her because of a fight.

After he finished his breakfast, Robin left the others to study in his room. Perhaps doing a bit of detective work on some leads would help clear his mind and settle his emotions. He sat at his desk and hunched over his private files, scanning each one for something he had missed before. Raven on the other hand couldn't find any way to get over her turmoil. The feeling that Robin didn't want to be around her made her more dejected than ever. She continued to sit at the dining table long after the others had left and contemplated a dozen ways she could apologize without making it worse. She wished that she could lie to him – tell him that she was ready to be with him and damn the consequences, but she could never let herself lead him on. Her roughness came from her devotion to staying straightforward and honest. Perhaps a short, to-the-point apology was all she needed to give. He had always been so good at reading between the lines with her. Maybe she didn't need to recite a grandiose speech in order for him to understand her remorse. With her heart pounding in her ears, she walked to his room and knocked lightly on his door. When he answered she came right out with it, not giving him the chance to speak.

"I'm sorry about last night." Her words came out fast and somewhat jumbled. He appeared a bit startled at first, but his shoulders dropped as he registered her words. She took a brief huff before continuing. "I didn't intend to make you upset."

He spent a few moments staring at her feet and scratching his forehead before finding the words he wanted. "I know you didn't." He said, knowing that her apology was honest. "And I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. You didn't deserve it." A few silent seconds passed. Raven's job was done. She had given the short quick apology that she had decided on and he had accepted. So then why was she still standing there mute? Why didn't she feel restored? Another second passed before he nodded awkwardly at her and turned around to go back to his work, but she spoke again unable to stop herself.

"I hate this feeling that you're mad at me."

He sighed and turned to face her once again. "I'm not mad at you… I'm mad at the predicament we're in." As she looked in his eyes, she could finally start to see just how tired he really was. "You haven't done anything wrong Rae; I just wish things were different. Don't beat yourself up."

"Does that mean you're still going to let me help you?"

He gave her a weary smile, remembering his promise to her. "Yes I still want you to help me swim."

"Good." She smirked, yet there was still a haze of tension in the air that unsettled Raven. This didn't feel right – this knot in their friendship. She didn't know how to fix it.

Before she could go on, the alarm began to blare through the hallway.

* * *

At a highly guarded power supply plant at the edge of the city, Slade's androids had managed to make off with a collection of highly powered energy crystals. They had done quick work, knocking out the guards and fleeing with the crystals just as the Titans arrived on the scene. Once again, Robin was forced to split the team up in order to pursue all of them and retrieve the crystals.

"First priority is obtaining the energy source. I don't want to give Slade the slightest chance of getting to use it. If a few henchmen get away, so be it." Robin instructed through the communicators as everyone pursued chase. "Get the crystals and return them to the plant."

A storm rolled in as Raven followed her group of minions into the woods. The rain pattered down on her as she swerved through the trees after them, using her powers to swat them with heavy branches and crushing them between boulders. At one point they turned and tried to attack her, but she was able to block and dodge their advances with ease in the woods. One by one she collected the crystals, sometimes even managing to simply levitate them out of their hands and into her own, but eventually she caught up to one android that possessed a weapon – a gun that he appeared to be powering with one of the stolen crystals. A large powerful blast came from the gun, which she narrowly managed to dodge by ducking behind a tree. Another blast came, and another, tearing apart the forest around her. She couldn't get close enough to focus her energy on the gun. She tried flinging some rocks in his direction, hoping they'd hit, but he was faster than the other androids. With little other places to hide, Raven decided she had to fly out in the open in order to get the shot she needed to take out the gun. She focused her energy into a claw shape, ready to aim it at the gun to pull it away. With the fastest speed she could manage, she darted out from behind the tree and stretched her aura towards the android. At the same moment that she began to run, he fired the gun and hit the tree she'd been hiding behind. As she grabbed the gun from him, crushing it into pieces, the tree behind her began to crack and fall over. The android ran off, having failed in his mission as Raven tried to move out of the way of the collapsing tree. She managed to avoid getting caught beneath the trunk, but its impact against the ground caused her to trip and tumble down. Before she knew it, a large thick branch from another tree that had been knocked and broken off in the chaos came crashing down from above and landed on her leg.

She cried out from the pain. Her powers surged and exploded objects around her. When she managed to regain her concentration, she levitated the branch off her leg and tried to stand. She couldn't tell yet if it was broken, but the pain was enough to make her believe so. She floated over to the remnants of the destroyed gun and picked up the pieces of crystal piece by piece. She thought about calling the others to help her back to the tower, but it was possible that they were busy with their own fights and didn't want to take the chance of distracting them. With the pain in her leg was making it hard to focus, Raven very slowly and cautiously flew back to the plant to return the stolen energy source. She could hear the others over her communicator, claiming that they were wrapping up their own battles, and Robin telling them they could head back to the tower as soon as they returned their crystals.

When Raven finally managed to return home soaking wet from the rain, the others had already returned long before she had. She phased through the common room window to find them standing around in the dark already dry and changed into fresh clothes.

"Hey Raven, what took you so long?" Beast Boy shape shifted into a dog and continued to shake himself dry.

"Why's it so dark in here?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"The power went out from the storm." Cyborg flipped up the flashlight in his shoulder to help the others see better. "I already took a look at the circuit board, but we'll have to just wait until it goes back on itself."

"Perhaps we could pass the time by sharing tales of anomalies." Starfire perked up. Beast Boy and Cyborg stared at her blankly.

"She means ghost stories." Robin stated, smiling.

"Oh, yeah!" The boys grinned. They shoved each other as they ran for the couch, trying to get a good spot.

"Great idea Star," Beast Boy hopped up and down on the sofa excitedly. "I know a story that'll scare your skirt off!" He laughed, but then quieted when he saw her startled expression. "But not literally of course." He added.

The others joined them on the couch with the exception of Raven. Her leg was killing her and she needed to start healing it as soon as possible. She would've liked to be a part of the fun this time, but she turned instead and headed straight for her room.

"Where you going Rae?" Cyborg called out.

"I can't tonight."

"Oh come on, we won't scare you too bad."

"No. I'm sorry." She muttered quickly and floated through the elevator door, desperate to get to her room to start the healing process. Robin watched her go, suspicious of why she was levitating herself instead of walking around the tower like she usually preferred.

When Raven finally got to her room she collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. She positioned her leg out straight and placed her hands on the fracture. It wasn't too bad. She could fix it fully within the next couple of days, but it wouldn't be easy. The pain radiating from her bones made it hard for her to concentrate on the spell, which made the healing process take longer. She sighed and tried to meditate as she sat, breathing in and out regularly. Eventually, she managed to calm herself into a peaceful state where time no longer occurred to her.

* * *

Robin walked down the hallway with a flashlight in his hand, deciding to head back to his room after everyone had finished their ghost stories. The others had wanted to mess around more, but he was tired. He was still running on over 24 hours without sleep and tracking down Slade's henchmen in the rain had taken even more out of him. He could almost hear his bed calling for him. He stopped in front of his door, but glanced down the hall towards Raven's room before entering. Something about her was still nagging at him. She had taken longer than expected to get back to the tower and her behavior afterwards, though subtle, was still stranger than usual. Due to their recent fight, he was still a little uncomfortable around her, but he considered it his responsibility as the team leader and as her friend to make sure that she was alright. Wearily, he walked over to her room and knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" She called from the inside. Robin noted that this was strange for her; she usually came to the door to answer it.

"It's me."

"Is everything okay?" She asked after a pause.

"That's what I was going to ask you." There was nothing but silence from her on the other side. "Can I come in?" He asked cautiously.

"…Yes." She responded after a short time and opened the door with her powers.

He found her sitting on the floor with her right leg stretched out, her hands hovering above it and glowing. There were dozens of lit candles placed around her room, lighting it flatteringly in the power outage. She hadn't changed out of her uniform and upon closer inspection he could see that she was still damp from the rain.

"What's going on?" He asked confused.

"Nothing. I got a little banged up that's all."

"Is it broken?"

"Yes, but it's not too bad. I can heal it."

"Sh…should I get you something?" Her nonchalance to the situation was throwing him off.

"No, thank you."

"You're still wet." He said, walking over to her.

"I know. I've been working on this since I got back."

He grabbed a towel hanging from her desk chair and wrapped it around the bottom of her hair, lightly wringing it out. "You should have told us." He patted around her face and neck, trying to get her dry.

"I know. But I didn't want to." She watched him move the towel down her left arm and leg. "I'm a little ashamed."

"What happened?"

"One of them was using the crystals to power some kind of ray gun. He tore a tree down with it and I got stuck under a branch."

Once he was done patting her down, he laid the towel around her shoulders. "Did he get away?"

"Yeah, but I got all the crystals."

He nodded seriously, looking her up and down for more injuries. "You should change before you catch a cold."

She took his advice and levitated a long t-shirt out of her dresser and pulled it on over her uniform. She then pulled her arms back into the shirt and unzipped her uniform underneath, pulling it down her body and over her legs from beneath the shirt. Robin watched her, mesmerized. Her bare, bruised legs laid out before him.

"You're still upset about our fight. I can tell." She snapped him out of his trance.

"I'm just tired and frustrated in general."

"But there's more you want to say to me." Sometimes it was unbelievable to Robin how perceptive she was. "Go ahead. If it'll make you feel better then you should say it."

"I don't want to start another argument." He got to his feet.

"Then I won't argue." She promised. "I'll just listen."

With her permission, he began to speak. He revealed his wishes that she would be braver – that she would allow herself the chance of giving in to her desires, and thus allowing him to give into his. "I think we could both be really happy." He began to pace back and forth again across her floor, not wanting to look her in the eye. "And you're right that there's a chance that it might not work out like I want it to, but I'm prepared to be patient Raven. And just because something doesn't work out the way you want it to, that doesn't mean that it's bad or that it wasn't worth it. I believe that our friendship will always remain strong no matter what because of who we are as people and how we treat one another." He could feel her watching him carefully as he spoke. "I'm not in any rush. I just wish you would consider it. I was scared too, but I'm not anymore because I realized that I'm not as happy being in any other situation." He gave a large sigh as he ran out of words. "Anyway, that's what I should have said the other night."

She stayed silent for a long time after he finished. He stood there awkwardly for a few moments, thinking maybe it was best for him to leave, before she spoke at last.

"From your point of view it sounds so simple. You don't have to worry about hurting me, but I could so easily hurt you."

He looked down at her. "I worry about hurting you all the time. It was the reason I wanted to do the agreement in the first place."

"Then I don't understand. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"Because it's true that I could hurt you, but I think it's more likely that I could make you really happy."

Her mind was in tangles again. She didn't know whether she wanted to kiss him or slap him. Maybe a little of both. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "…You make me feel so conflicted sometimes, you know that?"

He smirked tiredly. "It's not intentional."

She tried to stand by grabbing the end of her bed and lifting herself up from behind, but he swooped down and picked her up before she could manage. Being careful to not jostle around her leg too much, he lowered her slowly down on the bed and gently pulled the sheets out and up around her. "I'll go get you some water." He said quietly and left the room.

Her head buzzed with indecision. Everything he said made sense to her, but then again Robin could be very persuasive. She didn't want to let her attraction towards him affect her decision making. She needed to decide once and for all whether she was willing to take the risk of hurting him in order to be closer to him. To her, it felt selfish and irresponsible, and yet it was want he wanted. Could she trust that he would keep his word about being patient with her? It was something so much easier said than done and Robin wasn't always a patient man.

When he returned he found her lying with her head back and her eyes closed, appearing distracted. He placed the glass on her bedside table.

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

She cracked her eyes open. "It just aches."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

She thought it over for a moment. "I would like that, but you don't have to."

He pulled up her desk chair in response and sat down next to her bed. She took a sip of the water he'd brought.

"How were the stories? Scary?" She asked.

"Not really." He smirked. "Yours would've been better I'm sure." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he began to recount some of the night to her. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She watched the candlelight cast shadows across his face. He continued on talking with his eyes shut, unaware that she was studying him and glancing over the length of his outstretched neck as he spoke. The urge to lean over and kiss the soft spot of his throat began to tug at her chest. She wanted to sit in his lap and run her fingers through his hair.

She could tell he was drifting off to sleep by the way his words were vocalizing slower and becoming less creative. Every now and again he would repeat him without realizing it. She rested her hand on his knee and he pried his eyes open to look.

"You should get some sleep Robin. You don't have to sit here with me."

"I want to sit here." He yawned and shifted around in his seat. "I'm very comfortable."

He was clearly lying. "Sit on the bed then." She instructed. "You'll ruin your back in that chair." She scooted over and placed one of her pillows to the side for him. He climbed in next to her, too tired to object or try and make a fuss, and fell asleep almost instantly. Her bed was even comfier than his and the candles around her room just made him feel all the more relaxed.

Raven watched him drift off. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep herself since her leg was causing her too much discomfort, but it felt good to be next to him again. It began to dawn on her what Robin was talking about: this sense of being close to each other outweighing his fear that he would hurt her. She started to empathize with him. She didn't want to keep pushing him away. Even though she was still afraid, the need to be with him was growing stronger. It just felt so good to be close. Maybe by keeping their distance, they really were just making it worse for themselves instead to protecting their friendship. She took his hand gently and stroked the back of his arm up and down. Part of her wanted to wake him up, but her better judgement decided against it. He was so exhausted and she felt a tiny bit guilty for being part of the reason for it. Instead, she levitated a book over to herself and began reading to try to distract herself from the pain, taking every few moments to look down at Robin sleeping beside her.

* * *

When Robin awoke the next morning, he found that Raven was already up and dressed, working on her leg again. The candles had long since been extinguished and the natural light now flooded into her room and cast a glow over the bed. He groaned and stretched his muscles out as far as he could.

"Did you sleep?" He yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"A little here and there." She said, her back facing him as she bent over her leg.

"I should have gotten you some pain killers before I passed out."

Her eyes glowed white as she tried to sew her bone tissue together. "It was fine. I got through a couple of books."

"I just feel bad; I slept like a log."

"I know." She smiled. "You snored a little."

"No I didn't." He reddened. "I don't snore."

She chuckled quietly. "It wasn't a loud snore – just a little one. It was nice."

He exhaled with embarrassment and wiped his hand down the side of his face. "The power came back on?"

"Yeah, in the middle of the night."

He didn't want to impose on her privacy any longer, but he also didn't want to leave. He loved being around Raven, even if they were just sitting around, but he wasn't sure if she wanted him there as much as he wanted to be there.

"Can I get you something? Tea? Something to eat?" Maybe he could hang around longer if he brought her breakfast.

"Robin?" She inquired, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"You know how much I like you, don't you?"

He sighed, realizing that she'd probably picked up on his uncertainty. "I thought I did, but sometimes I'm not so sure." He told her honestly.

She observed him with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for that." She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in close to give him a long, light kiss on the cheek. "I know I can be pretty frustrating."

"And stubborn." He added, still blushing.

"Yes."

"And pessimistic."

"Alright…I get it." She deadpanned.

He laughed and brushed his fingers down the length of her back. "And an amazing person."

"Yeah, yeah." She flung her hand back at him carelessly, but was still warmed by his words. Somehow she liked that he could recognize both the good things and bad things about her. Of course he was only joking around, but it still made her feel like he was seeing her more realistically than she had feared. "I think I just need some time." She looked at him seriously. "I want what you want, but I'm not as brave as you. If you could just bear with me…"

"There's no rush." He said, his voice calm and smooth. "My feelings are not going to change. I can assure you of that."

"Thank you." Her voice started to waver a bit. He noticed the lamp on her desk start to rise with dark energy from her shifting emotions, but refrained from pointing it out. "It means a lot to me – that you're patient with me." Her fingers tensed against the bed sheets.

He wrapped his palms around her shoulders and pulled her back into him, embracing her body and pressing the skin of his cheek into her hair. "It's no trouble to me."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lamp begin to float back down and rest on the desk again. _We can do this,_ he thought confidently, _I know we can._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

A week or so had passed since Robin and Raven restored the peaceful balance to their relationship. Raven's leg had healed completely and the two were back to their regular routines. After spending more time in the pool and practicing diving in head first, Raven felt that Robin had reached the point where he was ready to start swimming in the bay.

They sat together on the small, sandy bank of the island and watched the tide roll in and out. Raven had decided that she didn't want to push him into the water, but simply wait until he felt comfortable wading in on his own. Then she could either follow in after him or watch him from the shore, whatever he preferred. He stood and walked towards the waves, stopping when the water covered his feet. Although he wanted to go farther, his feet kept him nailed to the spot. He looked out over the bay and absorbed its grandeur compared to the pool. He knew he had to be a lot more careful this time around. For a moment he turned to look at Raven, who continued to sit in the sand behind him and had started to construct a very nicely detailed sandcastle with her powers. She looked up at him encouragingly, but he became more frustrated than ever. The pool had been so easy compared to this. Now it was like they were back to square one. He couldn't help but imagine all the things that could be sitting at the floor of the bay – all the things waiting to hook onto him and drag him under. If he didn't try to move soon, he was going to waste the whole day just standing there. He felt guilty at the thought of wasting Raven's time after she had been trying so hard to help him. She had been so patient with him that he wanted to make it up to her by showing her at least some progress. He looked back at her again while she formed a terrace for her sandcastle and noticed that she looked particularly nice in her bikini that morning.

"You should wear that more often." He called back to her.

"Very funny." She retorted. "Don't try changing the subject – you're supposed to be trying to get in the water."

"Hmmm." He turned back to the water. She was right; he needed to stop stalling.

Raven watched his body tense as he starred out across the bay. She had hoped that it wouldn't be this hard for him considering everything he'd accomplished in the pool, but then again she couldn't blame him. This was a lot more real and reminiscent of what had actually happened to him. She knew how irritated he must have been feeling – to have come so far only to feel knocked back down again. Unable to watch him struggle much longer, she rose and wiped the sand off her legs before walking down to the water next to him.

She lightly wrapped her fingers around his wrist and walked into the water, pulling him in slowly behind her. He didn't stall, but she could still notice the tension overwhelming him. When they got in a little farther, she let go of his wrist and continued to walk out into the bay on her own, hoping that he'd continue to follow her. She waded out to the point where the water was up to her hips before stopping to wait for him to catch up. It was a little chilly, but she didn't let it show. He continued in after her, noticeably uncomfortable, but doing well all the same. He tried to erase his nervousness as he followed, but with every step he could only imagine what was sitting at the bottom.

Eventually he caught up to her and they continued further, side by side, until Raven decided to dive in without warning. Her head popped up a ways in front of him and she waited for him to branch out.

"Just try and make yourself comfortable." She called out.

Embarrassed, he settled himself into the water so that his shoulders were beneath the surface and felt around in the sand below him. It was soft, with shells and rocks scattering the bottom, but nothing that he could hook himself onto. He knew that his trepidation was unworthy of the amount of attention he was giving it, but for some reason his mind wouldn't let him rest easy until he knew that nothing would hook him like the last time.

After a little time had passed, he continued to watch Raven swim around easily in front of him and he forced himself to do the same. He began to grow more comfortable in the water like she had told him and even compelled himself to dunk under the surface. He didn't particularly like it, but he made himself do it over and over again until he got used to it. Raven was proud of his efforts. She knew how much he wanted to get over this and if he kept going at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could swim without hesitation.

An hour passed by and the two decided to make their way back to land and take a break. Raven dried herself off and wrapped her towel around her body before they sat down on the grass together. The sun was giving off the perfect amount of heat and Robin watched as Raven ran her fingers across her scalp like a comb and curl them down to ring her hair out. Before he could even dry himself off completely, he heard noises growing louder behind them. The other Titans were rushing out towards them and for a moment Robin thought that something had happened, but realized that was not the case when he saw the grins on their faces.

"Why didn't you guys tell us that you were going swimming?" Cyborg yelled excitedly before he and Beast Boy ran straight for the water. Raven watched contently as Beast Boy transformed into a dolphin and allowed Cyborg to ride him over the waves.

"I guess that means we're done for the day." Robin laughed next to her.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

As they lounged on the grass and watched the others, Starfire came out behind them in her bikini. Raven's sense of jealousy began to stir within her as she watched Starfire walk over to them. Although she didn't want to feel this way, she couldn't help notice that Starfire's body was a lot fuller than her own and a small part of her wished that she could turn heads like Starfire did.

"Robin, Raven! Will you be joining us in the water? The consistent splashing each other is quite amusing!"

"We were just in the water Star," Robin smiled politely, "but you go in and have fun."

"Well I hope that you'll be changing your mind soon and join us!" She grinned and the two watched her fly over the tide to join the other boys.

"You know," Raven began, "if you told the others that we were doing all of this, they'd understand."

"I know they would." He sighed in response. "I'd just rather get past this without everyone finding out and making a big deal about it." He laughed as he watched Beast Boy spray the others with water. "But maybe you should join them." He told Raven. "It'll be good practice for you."

She liked the idea of playing with the others, but she didn't want to be out there if Robin wasn't out there too. She hated the thought of leaving him alone. "I'd rather stay here with you."

Robin scooted over so that his arm pressed up against her own and when he was sure that the others weren't looking, he quickly placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. Raven's chest felt lighter and she laid back onto the grass happily, letting the sun warm her skin.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Raven walked down the hall and into the kitchen. She knew she shouldn't have skipped dinner and now she was paying for it. She squinted from the refrigerator light as she shuffled through their food supply, eventually grabbing an apple. She washed it in the sink and bit into it, the juiciness swirling around her mouth. As she ate she walked around the common room, picking magazines off the floor and cleaning up the tables. When she made her way close to the window, she took a second to look out at the lights of the city. It was a beautiful view; she felt bad for not appreciating it more often. Her gaze moved downward to the water and stopped on a figure standing on the island. It must have been Robin. His figure looked small from such a distance, but she knew it was him.

 _He's trying it on his own?_ She wasn't sure whether or not she liked the idea. She understood that he wanted to prove that he could do it on his own, but if he really ended up getting himself into trouble, then she might not be there to help him. And the middle of the night wasn't exactly the safest time to be swimming outside alone. The strong light from the moon allowed her to watch him enter into the water and start swimming. She didn't want to interrupt him, but she certainly wasn't going to take her eyes off him. While he was distracted in the water, she passed through the giant window and floated herself down to the island.

Once Robin had swum a good amount and even dunked under a few times, his energy began to wane. His limbs grew weak and his skin was a bit numb from the cold. He swam back to shore and shuffled out of the water quickly as the cold air rushed against his wet body. His black swim shorts clung to his thighs and as he reached the sand, he began to look for where he'd thrown his towel, but was immediately distracted by the womanly figure standing up further on the island. Raven held out his towel to him as he jogged closer and she wrapped it around his shaking shoulders.

"Couldn't wait till tomorrow huh?" She smirked and he chuckled into his towel. "You're really improving." She added.

"I guess."

She gave him a confused look. "Are you not happy with your progress?"

"I am. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy I can get into the water now, but the fear is still there. I can feel it sitting inside of me while I swim and it doesn't go away." He looked back and forth between his feet and her face. "How do I get rid of it?"

"Time." She stated. "The longer you go on, the easier it'll get. It's not really something we can rush." She looked at him with confidence and gave a small smile. "When the right time comes, you won't be afraid anymore." He nodded at her words appreciatively, but was unsure whether or not he truly believed her at this point. A short silence passed between them. "We should get you inside before you catch a cold." She whispered, noticing how much he was beginning to shiver.

"Hmm." He hummed, trembling. "What are you doing up anyway?"

"Couldn't really sleep." She tossed her apple core in the bushes as they walked to the tower's front door. "I'm still not tired to be honest."

"Me neither." He punched in the code for the entrance and the doors slid open. "You want to go out?" He looked at her and asked suddenly.

"Where?"

"Just into town. We can walk around the city."

She thought it over as they strode into the elevator. "Alright." She agreed. "Let me change first."

The two returned to their rooms and changed into their uniforms before meeting in the garage. Raven's chest pumped with anticipation. She didn't think she could really call it a date, but it sort of felt like one. Robin handed her one of his extra helmets.

"We're taking the bike?" She asked, somewhat stunned.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I've never ridden on the bike." No one but Robin ever had.

"Well then you should feel very honored." He smirked and patted the seat behind him. She climbed on and wrapped her arms around his waist snugly, letting herself hold on to him a little tighter than she had to. They ripped out of the garage, sped through the tunnel that ran under the bay and flew out into the city – her cape flying out behind them like a flag. The wind beat on her skin and she could barely hear anything as they rode, but she understood how Robin liked the rush of it all. He began to reduce his speed as they entered into the heart of the city and were forced to make sharp turns around the never-ending corners.

"Where exactly are we going?" Raven yelled through her helmet as they slowed for a stop light.

"I thought we could get something to eat." He called back. "I know a good place that's open 24 hours."

She nodded as the light switched green and he lifted his foot off the ground to get them moving again. She hugged him tightly once again, unable to help herself, and watched the flurry of lights smear and distort as they zipped through the streets. The new autumn air provoked goosebumps on her legs, but she barely took notice. The city seemed so different all of a sudden. Perhaps it was because they weren't on duty. She had never really experienced the city at night unless she was working. Robin rode a little further into a more isolated district and parked his bike on the street.

"How do you hear anything after riding this thing?" She asked as she pulled the helmet off and shook her head as if to try and erase the fuzziness from her ears.

He laughed. "You get used to it." She followed him into an old looking diner with a classic-styled neon sign and leather booths. "This place has been here forever." He explained. "I came here once when I was doing night patrol and now it's one of my favorites."

"How come you've never showed us this place before?" She slid into one of the booths.

He thought for a second. "I don't know. I guess it's because I only like to eat here at night. Like it's more familiar that way or something."

A waitress came over and placed two menus in front of them, taking their orders and strolling away unenthusiastically. The apple Raven had eaten hadn't proven to satisfy her appetite, so she was glad that Robin had wanted to eat. She played with the classic-themed salt and pepper shakers while they sat contentedly and chatted.

"So how have you been feeling lately?" He asked her. "Powers-wise."

"Fine I guess." She murmured. "Why do you ask?"

"Well we've been working on the swimming stuff together, but other than that you've kind of been shutting yourself up in your room again. The others haven't really seen you all that much."

She bit on the corner of her lip. "I guess it's just what I'm used to."

He looked at her sadly. "It's fine if that's what you prefer, I just thought..."

"That I'd stopped trying?"

He paused in silence. "It's just that I haven't seen you really try to hang out with us since the day you played volleyball – and you did great that day – I'd hate it if you gave up on all of that."

She sighed. "I haven't given up. There's just a lot that's happened – you got into trouble, we fought, I broke my leg. I am trying, but I can only really focus on one big thing at a time, you know?"

"I understand." He took a sip of his coffee.

"But you're right." She reflected. "I shouldn't be making excuses. I should be trying harder, like you are."

"I don't want you to push yourself too hard Rae."

"But if I'm ever going to live as freely as I want to – if I'm going to try and make this thing between us work – then I have to start trying harder." She stirred around the cream in her coffee with her finger. "It's as simple as that."

He smiled at her sympathetically. "You won't be alone."

"I know." She smiled and took a sip from her cup.

Their food came out and they sat in a peaceful silence while they ate. He reached for the ketchup bottle to add more to his fries, but stopped as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. When they looked out the window, they could see a group of men starting to get in an argument and shoving each other around. Robin sighed in annoyance, knowing that the argument was probably over something stupid, but that he and Raven couldn't ignore it. Raven took one last sip of her coffee and Robin tossed some money on the table for their meal before they walked outside to try and ease the trouble.

There appeared to be two groups of men, one being more numerous than the other. The smaller group seemed nervous, like they weren't eager to stick around, while the bigger group closed in on them. Raven pulled up a wall of dark energy in the middle of the crowd to try and separate them.

"Break it up." She said sternly.

"This has nothing to do with you guys." One of the men from the larger group rasped, looking them over and recognizing their uniforms.

"Maybe not, but we're not letting it happen regardless." Robin stated.

The smaller group didn't stick around to argue any longer and took off fleeing down the street, leaving the other men irritated that they'd gotten away without a fight.

"What is this all about?" Raven asked, cornering in the remaining men with her powers.

"They been acting sneaky all night and this street is part of our territory." One of the men explained angrily. "Probably looking for a fight after one of theirs was killed last week."

 _A gang thing._ Robin sighed internally. He hated stuff like this. It was so pointless to him, yet practically impossible to stop. It's not like they could arrest all of them, nor would that settle anything or change anyone for the better. But rival gangs usually fought each other all the time. Why did the other group of men seem so eager to run away? Especially when fighting was something they typically did voluntarily, even if the other gang was bigger?

"What's on your mind?" Raven asked him, having noticed his thoughtful expression.

"Why did the other guys seem so scared?"

She opened her mouth to respond when out of nowhere the building next to them abruptly exploded from the inside. The glass panels of the windows burst out into the street and some of the building's frame came flying out of place. Robin, Raven, and the gang members were flown backwards and tossed onto their backs. As Robin recovered and came fully to, he could hear people screaming from inside the collapsing building as well as others groaning around him from the impact of the explosion. Off to his right he spotted Raven trying to stand and push off the debris that collapsed on her. He ran to her side and checked her for major injuries.

"You alright?" He supported her elbow to help her stand.

"I'm fine, but look." She nodded towards an area further down the street where people had gathered to see what had happened. Among them were the five men from the other gang, not appearing surprised at all by the wreckage.

"Stay here and help dig out the others." He said and started walking towards them. One of them finally noticed Robin's figure moving towards the group and alerted the others to start running. Although he was still wobbly from the explosion, he chased after them and could hear Raven calling for him to be careful as he moved away from the scene.

Getting herself together, Raven pulled out her communicator and pressed the emergency call button to signal the others for help. The building was old to begin with and now it was practically falling down as a result. She had to make sure she got everyone out before it collapsed completely. She ran into the building and called out for people needing assistance, pulling them out from under debris and carrying them outside with her powers. She attempted to use her powers to hold up as much of the building as she could so people could escape, but it was larger and a lot more intricate than she thought. She didn't know how long she'd be able to focus her energy into it while searching for occupants at the same time.

Meanwhile Robin continued to chase the gang members down the alleyways of the city. _They're not separating._ He noticed. _They might be trying to lure me into something._ He kept his senses on alert for any surprise attacks. He had most likely chased them into their own territory by now where they'd have plenty of backup if they needed it. And with the anger that had now consumed Robin, they were definitely going to need it.

Eventually, they led him to the docks where they stopped running and finally turned to fight. They pulled out their weapons, some with guns and others with knives, and Robin didn't hesitate to start disarming them. He blinded them with a tiny smoke screen bomb and knocked the guns out of their hands and into the water behind them using his staff. Before they knew he was even next to them, he bound them with rope cables and pushed them to the ground. A couple of them ganged up on him and once and they managed to knock him back with a few punches and cut up his uniform with their knives, but ultimately they couldn't subdue him. One by one, Robin overpowered each of them and tossed them on top of one another as if he were trying to build a pyramid. He counted up four of the members he'd been chasing and three extras who had joined in to assist them in the fight, but he was still missing one of the original five. Robin closed his eyes and listened for movement around him, his smoke bomb still making it difficult to see. He smirked confidently as he heard footsteps come up behind him. _Found you,_ he thought as he swung his staff around as hard as he could and thwacked the thug to send him flying out into the water.

Robin watched as the man resurfaced, although he seemed to be struggling in the water. His arms flailed around helplessly and his voice came out in panicky spurts. _He can't swim,_ Robin realized and immediately dove headfirst into the mucky water. Though it was hard to see, Robin managed to swim over to him by listening for his thrashing. He wrapped one arm around the guy's torso and used the other to paddle them back to the dock where threw him up on the pavement. After pulling himself out, he tied the gang member up and threw him with the others, taking a moment to catch his breath. It wasn't until after the ordeal was over that Robin realized exactly what he'd done. It dawned on him that he just dove into the bay and swam without as much as a flinch of hesitation. The fear hadn't even occurred to him, he just knew what he had to do.

He then saw car lights pull up to the scene, blinding him for a second before he noticed that it was Cyborg stepping out of the T-car.

"Robin, you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?"

"I tracked your communicator. Raven called us for backup – she said you might need some help." He looked at the pile of gang members groaning on top of one another. "But I guess not huh?" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"No, but you can call the police for me and tell them where to pick these guys up."

"You got it."

They climbed back into the T-car and headed back to the explosion sight where Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy were continuing to help the emergency squad get victims onto stretchers. Once Starfire and Beast Boy had made sure that everyone was out of the building, Raven finally let it go and it slowly fell apart completely. She exhaled a breath in relief as she saw Robin walking over to her.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, fine. What was the damage here?"

"Some major injuries, but no fatalities. Luckily, no one was directly hit with the explosion so they must have planted it somewhere remote in the building."

He nodded, glad the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. "I'm sorry our outing got cut short." He smiled tiredly.

"I think I've had enough fun for one night." She wiped the dirt off her face with her sleeve. "You're all wet..." She noted curiously.

"I went for a swim." He smiled and she eyed him peculiarly in response.

When all the victims had been carried away to the hospital and the criminals picked up and taken in for questioning, the Titans were finally allowed to return home. As Raven looked into the side mirror of the T-car, she watched Robin following behind them on the R-cycle. They'd both had a long night and she knew he was probably exhausted and eager to get some rest. Just as she thought, after they parked the vehicles in the garage and entered the elevator, everyone dispersed to their rooms to go back to sleep. When Raven and Robin got off on their floor, she quickly pulled him into the bathroom.

"Take your shirt off." She told him. "I want to check your wounds before you go to bed."

Even though he was tired, he complied with her commands without a fuss and pulled the top part of his damp uniform over his head. Upon inspection, Raven found some light bruising around his ribs and a few cuts and scrapes lining his back and arms. She sat him down on the edge of the bathtub before cleansing the areas with soap and water and gently dabbing antiseptic against the open wounds.

"So what did you mean before when you said you'd gone for a swim?" She whispered and blew lightly on his skin to try and help dry the cuts.

"One of the thugs fell in the bay and couldn't swim, so I had to dive in and get him." He smiled tiredly as he let himself remember. "I didn't hesitate either. It was like I didn't even have time to be scared. I just did it." He looked over his shoulder at her while she continued to gently wipe his skin. "Do you think that means I'm over it?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see." She told him honestly before getting him to turn around and wiping the dirt from his face with a wet washcloth. "But either way, you've taken a huge step forward."

When she was finished cleaning him up and bandaging his larger wounds, she ran her fingertips down the nape of his neck and across the backs of his shoulders, feeling the ripple of his muscles. "Are you in pain?" She whispered down to him.

"No. But I'll probably be sore in the morning." He circled his arms around her body and rested his hands on the backs of her thighs, leaning his forehead into her lower stomach and closing his eyes as she caressed his back. When he couldn't take much more, he rose to meet her and wiped some remaining dust off her own face. She cupped one of his cheeks in her palm and pressed her lips tenderly to the other one, causing him to wrap his arms around her once again and draw her in closer. She felt his erection start to press against her as she ran her fingers through his hair and he lifted her up to wrap her legs around his waist. He spun them around and sat her down on the bathroom counter before finding a soft spot on her neck to start sucking tenderly on. Raven couldn't stop herself from giving in to his ministrations. His hands roamed her skin, tickling her entire body. Everything in her felt suddenly charged.

There was a loud bang. Something broke and she felt Robin jolt in her arms at the sound before the lights cut out. He tried to look around to see what it was they had broken, but he couldn't distinguish anything in the sudden darkness. When his eyes started to adjust, he could tell that Raven was now attempting to steady herself. Her expression appeared crestfallen and irritated at the same time.

"It's okay Raven." He told her. She heaved a sigh and rubbed her eyelids with her thumb and pointer finger. He grazed his finger along her bare skin once again, but she put her hands over his to stop him. She unwrapped herself from around him and hopped off the counter to try and cool herself down. Robin felt his own excitement begin to extinguish, but he didn't let himself become upset over it. He could tell how guilty Raven already felt for having to stop him. "It's alright Rae," he repeated, "how about we just go to bed?"

She gave a simple, yet somber nod in response and he led her into his bedroom where he pulled out a large sweatshirt for her to change into. She put it on quickly and quietly and crawled into bed with him when she was done, her good mood now completely doused.

"I'm sorry Robin." She mumbled into the covers, but he hushed her.

"None of that." He told her. "I promised you that I'd be patient – that we'd work on this together – and I intend to keep that promise." She shuffled closer to him and rested her head against his chest, her eyes already began to lull closed from the sound of his voice.

"I don't know how we're going to pull this off." She admitted, squeezing the hem of his nightshirt in her hands.

"We'll pull it off." He yawned and let his head collapse back onto his pillow. "You'll see." He pulled Raven in tighter, getting her to drop the tenseness in her limbs completely. Her breath steadied and her unease quieted as he got her to doze off. He relaxed in the feeling of her warm body pressed against his own before his eyes finally gave up on him and he nodded off to sleep himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

* * *

Weeks had passed since the bombing in town and Jump City had suddenly become crime-less. The Titans hadn't picked up a single hint of a terrorist attack or robbery, not even a single mugging. Even Beast Boy was starting to get bored with the time off, when eventually the computer picked up a signal of a potential mudslide warning up in the mountains.

"Potential?" Cyborg read off the screen. "So there wasn't even a mudslide, there just _might_ be one? Man that's lame."

"It's not like we have anything more serious happening lately." Robin reasoned. "We could go up and secure the area. It wouldn't take too long."

"Or we could stay and go camping." Beast Boy sprung up as the idea popped in his head. "We're going to be up there anyway to confine the area, so why not stay a little while longer and camp? It'll be fun." He squeaked, but Robin looked at him unimpressed. "Oh come on Robin. It's like you said – we don't have anything more serious going on anyway."

The more the others talked about it, the more excited they became. Starfire had never been camping before and wanted to see what Beast Boy was making a fuss about. After some thought, even Robin had to admit that it wasn't the worst idea and that it would give the team a little fresh air out of the tower.

"Fine, we'll go." He said. "But only for the weekend." He didn't like the idea of being away from the city for too long.

"I can stay and watch over things here if you want." Raven added. She wasn't gung-ho on the idea of dealing with the boys the whole weekend, plus she preferred the comfort of her own bed rather than a sleeping bag on the cold ground.

"Oh no, you _have_ to come." Robin wagged a finger at her. "Besides, it'll be a good team-building experience."

"Yes!" Starfire clasped her hands together. "We can all get to know each other better!"

"We live together 24/7, how much closer are we supposed to get?" Raven crossed her arms. She knew that Robin was only making her come along because he wanted her to spend more time with the others so she could work on controlling her powers more. His intentions were good, and he was probably right, but Raven still couldn't get excited over the idea of stumbling around in the mountains.

After the decision had been made, Starfire pulled Raven into her room and asked her to help her pack since she wasn't sure what "camping attire" included. Raven searched through her draws and pulled out the warmest clothes she could find, which wasn't much considering most of Starfire's wardrobe consisted of skirts and sleeveless shirts.

"I can withstand cold temperatures. Warmth will not be an issue for me." She explained.

"I know, but you don't want to get ticks."

"Ticks?"

"It's a type of parasite that'll clamp onto your skin and can give you diseases, and there are lots of them in the woods, so you don't want to show a lot of exposed skin."

"Oh." She held up the leggings and sweater that Raven picked out and frowned.

"Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?" Raven asked blandly, attempting to be nice. "I have some things that'll probably fit you."

"Alright!" Starfire's eyes lit up at the idea of getting to share clothes with Raven as if they were sisters. She grabbed Raven and dragged her upstairs to her room where she started looking through her closet excitedly.

"I know it's probably not your style." Raven commented as Starfire breezed through all her dark colored clothing.

"I think Robin would like this." She said, pulling out a dark red v-neck sweater.

Raven's heart flipped. "Yeah, he might…" The idea of Starfire trying to impress Robin unsettled her, but she couldn't very well tell her not to. Starfire could do what she wanted and it wasn't like she knew anything about how Robin and Raven's friendship was starting to evolve. "That would look good on you." She said, trying to be supportive.

"No, I meant for you."

"What?" She blushed as Starfire walked up to her and held the sweater up to her torso as if to preview it.

"Well, you two are around each other very often. I thought maybe you'd want to wear something he'll like."

He heart did another flip. Had Starfire really caught on so easily? "I spend a lot of time with you guys too, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start dressing like you." She tried to distract her from the topic. "And what's wrong with the way I normally dress?"

"Oh, nothing!" She said hurriedly. "I just thought –"

"– It's fine." Raven cut her off, praying that Starfire would forget the whole thing. It wasn't that she was ashamed of what she and Robin were doing, but something about the idea of the others knowing about it worried her. She could already imagine them butting their heads in and causing trouble, which was something Raven didn't know if she could handle at this point. She watched Starfire's shoulders sink as she turned back to the closet to pick out more clothes. Raven sighed guiltily, knowing that she had just blown up at Starfire when she was only trying to be nice. "Let me help you." She breathed shamefaced and tried to make amends by helping Starfire browse through her hangers.

* * *

Once everyone had packed up and gotten ready, they loaded up the T-ship and punched in the coordinates. Beast Boy and Cyborg chattered giddily the entire ride, which eventually began to drive Raven over the edge. She rested her head against the glass window of the ship and tried to occupy her mind for the rest of the flight. Part of her was still embarrassed and confused from her conversation with Starfire. She knew that the Tamaranian had always been fond of Robin and was closer to him than she was with anyone else on the team, so Raven had always assumed that she wouldn't be happy to learn about what he'd been doing with Raven. But she didn't seem too upset when she mentioned their closeness. How much did she really know? And if she did know everything, would she still be supportive? Raven didn't like to think about it. It made her nervous to imagine the others responses to her private life. A part of her did truly want their approval, even if it wasn't the most important thing in the world.

They landed a few miles upward from the danger site and began hiking around to look for a good spot to set up camp. Beast Boy transformed into a hawk and began searching from the skies, leaving Cyborg shaking his fist and yelling for making him have to carry both of their stuff. They finally settled on a spot by the River with lots of shade and level ground. As soon as they dropped their luggage, Cyborg and Beast Boy darted straight for the river, leaving the others to set up camp. Robin growled in annoyance, but Raven didn't mind. She could probably get it done faster without them anyway. She used her powers to unfold the tents and put everything in place while Robin hammered in the pegs. Starfire began chattering about how cute everything looked after it was all set up.

Robin called the boys back from the river. "We have to go take care of this mudslide thing, remember? It's why we came in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your tights on." Cyborg mocked, smiling. "I've already got the location locked." They followed Cyborg downhill and eventually arrived at the spot. "The ground is pretty heavy here from all the absorbed water. We need to lighten it and raise the land to keep it from giving off a snowball effect if it were ever to collapse."

Robin began putting together a plan. "Beast Boy and Cyborg start digging into the ground and draining out as much water as you can. Starfire, you fly around and see if you can find some heavy foliage that we can dig up and replant here to use as a sort of blockade. Raven and I will work on raising the land further downhill."

Everyone agreed to their roles and went to work. Beast Boy morphed into a mole and began digging a large hole into the wet ground, which then slowly filled with water, while Cyborg used some of his equipment to suck the water into a vacuum and deposit it elsewhere. Starfire used her strength to pull out some large bushes and replanted them at the bottom of the slope while Robin instructed Raven on where exactly to raise the terrain using her powers. After many hours and much progress, the area had begun to look much safer. Cyborg secured some yellow tape around the site to keep people away from it before Robin finally agreed that they could go back to camp.

"Raaaveen," Cyborg called out as he a Beast Boy skipped back into the river. "You're gonna play water stankball with us right?"

She nearly smacked her palm to her forehead. "You brought dirty clothes on this trip just so you could play stankball?"

"Of course!" Beast Boy chimed in.

She groaned in response, but she could practically feel Robin's eyes boring into her back. He wanted her to go on this trip so she could work on having more fun around the others. If she wanted to make him proud, then she was going to have to play. "Alright." She grumbled and rolled up her pant legs to go in the water.

Cyborg and Beast Boy began cheering in delight as the three of them began sloshing through the water and throwing Beast Boy's rolled up socks at each other. Gratefully, Raven was able to use her powers to make sure the balls never actually touched her, but she played along regardless. And after a few games, she realizes that she was actually having more fun on the trip than she thought she would. She liked sharing these moments with the others, even if they were activities that she wouldn't usually choose to participate in on her own. When the games came to an end, the three of them walked back to the tents together where they found Robin attempting to teach Starfire how to fish, though she didn't appear to be understanding the attraction to it.

They all relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Raven and Starfire meditated on the bank for a good amount of time while the boys continued to fish, although Beast Boy made them throw back anything they caught. Later on, as the sun went down and everything grew dark, they started a campfire and pulled out the materials to roast s'mores.

"This is the best part of camping Star." Beast Boy told her and slid a marshmallow onto her stick for her. "You've never tasted anything like this before."

"I am very excited. Camping has proven to be most enjoyable so far." The others laughed along and agreed with her. Robin was glad that they had chosen to stay. Raven seemed happy, which in turn made him happy as well. He was even starting to consider allowing the team to stay a little longer than just the weekend. He chuckled silently as he watched Raven inspect her marshmallow to see how brown it was while Cyborg sat next to her and immediately lit his on fire.

* * *

The night grew older and one by one the Titans began to yawn. As the others began to prepare for bed, Robin made eye contact with Raven, trying to signal to her that he wanted her to stay up for a little while longer. It didn't take her long to get the message.

"Are you guys coming?" Cyborg looked between them.

"Yeah, in a little while." Robin answered, poking the fire and putting another log on.

"Well make sure to put the campfire out before you do."

"Yup." He began to grow impatient. He'd been hoping for them to go to bed hours ago so he could be alone with Raven. When the others finally crawled into their tents, he snuck over to where she was sitting. "Finally." He whispered.

"What's the matter Robin?" She teased. "I thought you were all excited about bonding as a team."

He smirked in response and placed his hand gently on her thigh. "I wouldn't mind having a little one-on-one bonding as well."

"Shhh." She quieted him so the others wouldn't overhear. She listened to the random crackle of the fire as he took her wrist and slid up the sleeve of her sweater before skimming his fingers up and down the inside of her arm. Her skin tickled from the contact, but she remained silent and kept her breaths steady and focused. Robin apparently didn't want to make it any easier on her as he dragged his lips over her bare neck and down towards the exposed skin on her chest. Eventually, when he heard the others snoring and heavy breaths from the inside of their tents, he pulled Raven onto his lap so she was facing him.

"Maybe this isn't the best place for practice." She whispered.

"I can't help it." He dug his face into the crook of her neck. "I know it's risky, but I've wanted to do this all day."

She could feel the heat of the campfire radiating against her back as he pulled her tighter. "Maybe just a little bit." She whispered in his ear. "Nothing that's going to send me overboard." She could feel his arousal growing fast as he lifted his head at her words. Without a sound, he cupped her jaw and brought her face closer to his before catching her lower lip between his. Her lips were soft and dry and he kept himself attached to them as long as he possibly could before having to break away. She wrapped one arm around his neck while the other hand reached underneath the hem of his shirt and began stroking his muscular stomach.

Every few seconds they had to pull apart so Raven could attempt to refocus her energy. As he waited for her to regain her composure, Robin thought he felt a few drops of rain hit his head, but it didn't stop him in the slightest. He didn't care if there was a hurricane rolling through; he was too absorbed in being with her. The fire started to sizzle as the rain beat down harder and began snuffing it out.

"It's raining." Raven whispered.

"I don't care." He reached his hand under her sweater and unfastened the bra she was wearing, running his fingertips up and down her spine and making her shiver.

They continued to quietly touch each other until the drizzle of rain turned into a shower and completely drowned out the fire. Their clothes were soaked through and Robin started getting goosebumps everywhere.

"I think it's time to call it a night." Raven said, pulling herself off his lap.

"If you insist." He watched her pull a towel from her tent to wipe off her dripping face. "You know you can sleep in my tent if you want." He teased.

"Goodnight Robin." She smiled before crawling into bed.

* * *

Robin awoke the next morning with a stiff neck. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and the rain had made him shiver all night even after he'd changed into dry clothes. He had desperately wanted to crawl into Raven's tent and sleep with her, but he knew he'd already pushed his lucked far enough that night, not to mention that the rest of the team would have questions if they found them crawling out of the same tent in the morning. He could tell the others were already up from the smell of sausage cooking outside.

"Robin, you have finally awoken." Starfire greeted him warmly as he ducked out tiredly from behind his tent flap, but frowned when she saw his appearance. "Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Not really." He wiped some sweat from his head. "The rain kept me up for a while."

"Man, I must have slept right through it." Cyborg grinned. "And from the looks of it, it must have poured."

"Actually I think this provides a good chance for us to look back at the work we did yesterday and make sure it's holding up."

"Oh come on Robin." Beast Boy moaned. "We already did everything we could. Just because you like working more than having fun doesn't mean we have to."

"A true hero if I ever saw one." Raven droned at the changeling.

"Fine. You guys stay here if you want." Robin muttered. "I'm going."

"I'm going with you." Raven stated and took a bite of her eggs. "If you guys came along, we could always just go hiking once we're done."

Beast Boy seemed to mull it over for a moment. "I'm alright with that." He smiled and the others soon joined in agreement.

They finished their breakfast and cleaned up the site before making their way back downhill. Raven didn't really want to go hiking, but if it got the others to do what they were supposed to be doing, then she could bare it for a little while. As they hiked, she noticed that Robin still seemed frazzled and irked. He was breathing heavier than usual and kept wiping his forehead. He also seemed paler than normal. Perhaps the rain really did do a number on him last night.

Once they reached the area that Cyborg had secured with yellow tape the day before and inspected it, Robin seemed pleased that their work had seemed to hold up well even with all the rain they'd gotten.

"Alright." Cyborg rubbed his hands together. "Let's go adventuring." He grinned and the others prepared to follow him, all except for Robin.

"I'm gonna head back to camp."

"Robin, why?" Starfire asked disappointed.

"I don't feel good enough to hike. I kind of just want to rest more."

"Yeah man, you don't look so good." Cyborg rubbed his chin. "Maybe we should take you back."

"No, no. I can handle myself. You guys go and have fun and I'll meet you back at camp later." The others shrugged, but Raven grew worried.

"Are you sure? I can go back with you." She said.

"Yes Raven, go." He swatted his hand back at her as he turned to start walking in the opposite direction. "Go have fun."

She watched him begin to hike back towards camp. She didn't want him to be alone, but she also didn't want to argue with him in front of the others. Concerned, she watched him until he walked completely out of sight before turning and rejoining the others.

When Robin returned back to camp he was heavy with sweat and starting to get dizzy. He gulped down a bottle of water before stripping off his clothes and wading into the river to cool off. He dunked under water and popped back up, shaking out his hair. The fact that he was making himself vulnerable in a deep, rapidly flowing river barely even occurred to him. He felt hot and cold at the same time and he just wanted it to stop. After a few more dunks underwater, he pulled himself out of the river and wrapped a towel around his waist. He ducked into his tent and fell asleep almost as soon as his face hit the pillow.

* * *

"Robin…" He was stirred out of his sleep. "Robin, wake up." He heard Raven's voice and started upright in confusion. He looked around, nearly forgetting where he was.

"What's going on?" He shivered uncontrollably.

"I want you to take this." She said handing him a couple of pills. "Lucky I even thought to bring it along."

"What is it?"

"Ibuprofen. You've got a serious fever." She handed him a water bottle to help him swallow down the pills and put her palm against his forehead to try and feel again just how hot he was. "Probably from sitting out in the rain all night."

"I thought as much." He groaned and collapsed back down on his pillow.

"Sorry I had to wake you, but the sooner you took the medication the better."

"It's fine." He watched as she began shuffling through his duffel bag. "What are you looking for?"

"Clothes." She stated. "You shouldn't be lying around in a wet towel when you have a fever."

"Oh." She pulled out a pairs of boxers and sweatpants, along with a long-sleeved shirt he'd packed. Still lying on his back, he slid on the boxers and pants underneath his towel before removing it and Raven helped him pull his shirt on over his head. "How was the hike?" He asked.

"I don't really know. I came back early to check on you."

"You did?"

"I was worried." She explained.

"I know. I'm sorry."

She gave a small smile and pressed a hot towel to the back of his neck. "You can make it up to me by promising to rest for the next couple of days. No working, no fighting, no training. Just soup, juice, medicine, and rest."

"That's kind of asking a lot from me." He smiled but she didn't laugh. "It's not like there's any work to do out here anyway."

"We're not staying here. I'm taking you home."

"What? I'll be fine here. I just have to wait for the fever to break."

"Absolutely not. I'm not letting you sleep outside in the cold with a fever for the entire weekend. As soon as the others come back, I'm loading up the T-ship and we're leaving."

"But–"

"–No buts." She said sternly, practically chastising him. "I don't care if you're the leader of this team; this time you're going to do what _I_ say." He could tell how serious she really was and for a moment he was almost turned on by it before his mind straightened out again.

"I just don't want to ruin everyone's weekend simply because I got sick halfway through."

She thought for a moment. "The others don't have to come back with us. I can fly us back home in the T-ship and then send it back to the others by punching the coordinates into the autopilot."

Clearly, there was no arguing with her. "If you insist." He sighed and closed his eyes.

"I don't just insist – I order you." She smirked and smoothed his wet hair back before pressing her lips softly to his forehead.

She sat by his side and watched as his chest began to rise and fall with steady rhythm. She covered him with an extra blanket from her own tent and when she was sure he had fallen asleep again, she left him to nap and began packing up her things. About a half-an-hour later, the other Titans returned just as she finished tying up her belongings.

"What's going on? Is he okay?" Cyborg asked, observing that she was all packed up to go.

"He's got a pretty high fever. I need to get him back to the tower to get some actual rest."

They snuck a peak into Robin's tent and saw how pale and weak he looked as he slept.

"Oh, poor Robin!" Starfire exclaimed. "What can we do to help?"

"You can help me pack up the T-ship. I'll fly us home as soon as he wakes up and then send it back to you guys before the weekend's over."

"So what, we're not coming with you?" Beast Boy looked confused.

"He said he doesn't want to ruin everyone's weekend. He wants you guys to stay and have fun so he doesn't feel guilty."

"What about you?"

"I don't mind taking care of him." She looked back towards his tent and allowed herself a tired smile. "I don't really trust him to do it on his own."

"Are you sure? We don't mind cutting the trip short." Cyborg picked up her bags and started carrying them over to the T-ship. "We were all supposed to be together this weekend."

"I know, but there's no point in everyone going home when he really only needs one person to look after him." She placed her hand on Cyborg arm gratefully. "I can keep you guys updated if you want."

"Yes, please do." Starfire said dejectedly. "We will miss both of you tremendously."

"We can hang out again when you guys get back." Raven tried to lift the mood. "Something that won't drive Robin to near-exhaustion."

They nodded sympathetically in agreement as Robin came out from his tent behind them.

"You don't look too good, dude." Beast Boy told him. "Practically as green as me."

"I don't feel too good either." He gave him a tired smirk. "I take it Raven filled you all in on her demands?"

"Are you sure you do not want us to accompany you back home?" Starfire asked.

"Positive. You guys were so excited for this weekend; I'm not about to cut it short." She pulled him in for a tight hug as the others began taking down his tent and putting away his things for him. "I'll see you all again soon when I'm back to being healthy." He told her.

They said their goodbyes to each other before Raven and Robin climbed into the ship and started for home. Thankfully the flight didn't take too long or else Robin probably would've gotten motion sickness. As they arrived at the tower, Raven lowered the ship onto the landing pad and filled it up with fuel before sending it back to the others on autopilot.

"Okay you," she addressed Robin, "time to go back to bed." She led him into the tower and down to his bedroom where he crawled under the covers. "I want to run out and get some groceries for you. Will you be alright for a little while?" She asked.

"Uh huh." He moaned.

"When you feel up to it, you should take a hot shower." She whispered and he nodded into his pillow. "I'll be back soon." She petted his head before leaving. As much as she hated seeing him like this, Raven had to admit that she liked taking care of him. It made her feel needed. She liked this feeling that suddenly he was hers to take care of, like she had a right to watch over him even if he told her not to. Almost like he belonged to her – and she belonged to him.

She ordered a variety of soups and comfort foods over the phone for pick-up since she knew she couldn't cook anything good herself and wrote up a list of vitamin filled products to stock the fridge with. Beast Boy would probably have a field day when he found out how many vegetables she was going to load up on. Not wanting to waste any more time, she teleported herself into town.

* * *

When Robin woke up once again, it was already dark outside and it took him a few seconds to figure out what day it was. _I slept the entire day?_ He realized as he looked at the clock and it was already past dinner time. He stretched his limbs, already feeling ten times better than he had that morning, and decided to take a hot shower like Raven had recommended. Then he brushed his teeth to get the sick taste out of his mouth and changed into fresh clothes. When he walked into the common room, he found Raven sitting on the couch and reading.

"Hey sleepyhead." Her voice came out in the usual deep purr that he loved. "Hungry?"

"Starving now that I think about it." He opened the refrigerator and was surprised to see how filled it was. "I don't think we've ever owned this much food at once." He called out.

"There's soup hidden in there somewhere if you can find it." He ladled himself a bowl and heated it up in the microwave before sitting down on the couch next to her. She wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. "So how are you feeling?"

"Much better. Still a little achy though."

She responded by rubbing circles into his back and he bowed his head in pleasure from the ease it gave him.

"Swimming around in a cold river this morning probably didn't help, you know."

"I know, but I was so hot. I had to cool down somehow."

"Were you scared at all?" She inquired, curious. "I know it's not the bay, but it's still a pretty big body of water."

"I don't think so." He rested his head against her shoulder as she continued to scratch ovals into his back. "I was kind of delirious, but even if I wasn't, I don't think I would've been frightened."

"That's good." She told him. "I'd almost go so far as to say that you were completely over it already." She really was impressed with how much progress he'd made in such a short amount of time.

"I don't know if I'm completely over it. Every now and then I'll have a bad dream or some sort of flashback, but at least I know for sure that none of this is going to be permanent." He raised his eyes to look at her from the comfort of her shoulder. "I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Don't mention it." She uttered nonchalantly and reached for the remote to turn on the television. "Not that you even really needed me."

"Of course I did." He piped up, somewhat offended. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even be here right now, let alone attempt to heal on my own. I know I tend to go off and try to fix things by myself, but even I'll admit that I wouldn't have been able to do any of this alone." He grabbed her hand and began rubbing it between his palms. "You do know how much I need you, don't you?"

Raven couldn't keep herself from smiling at his words. That nice feeling of belonging began to heat up inside her again. "I do now." She reddened gratefully.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning** : this chapter contains a little more sexual content than usual. Nothing too obscene, but young readers please read with caution.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

It was a rare morning that all five Titans got up early together, but as the sunlight rolled in through the tower one morning, they all happened to be awake to watch it. They sat on the couch together and drank coffee and tea, relaxing in the cold morning silence. Robin had long since recovered from his illness thanks to Raven's help and the two had become closer than ever. They spent most nights together working on Raven's control as the others slept, and in the daytime they usually went for a swim in the bay together. Robin's fear of the water had decreased substantially, almost to the point where they could call it nonexistent. Raven's progress in controlling her powers during their time alone was taking longer than she'd hoped, but there was no denying that she was improving. Slowly but surely, she found it easier to focus her energy in a way that allowed her to feel and express her emotions while still maintaining them at the same time. It was sort of like creating an imaginary bubble where she could release her energy without letting it touch anything else. The more they practiced, the easier it became to manage the "bubble," but the two still hadn't tried anything exceedingly sexual. Raven continually found herself wishing that she could get over her fear as successfully as Robin seemed to be getting over his, but days kept on passing and it was starting to feel as though nothing was actually changing. Her slow progression sometimes made her nervous, but as Robin had promised her, he remained patient in their time together.

As they all rested peacefully together on the couch, a call came in on the Titans' main computer. Robin stood and answered the call, recognizing the ID number from Hot Spot's communicator.

"How's it going Hot Spot?" He asked as his image came up on the screen in front of them.

"Not so great, Robin." He responded dejectedly. "A giant sand storm came blowing through my hometown last night. It's left the city almost completely buried."

"Oh no, that is awful!" Starfire perked up from the couch. "We must assist!"

"Well that's kind of what I was hoping you'd say. I spent all morning getting everyone out of their homes and into shelter in the next city over, but I don't think I can clean up all this sand on my own."

"I'll ship out as soon as I can." Robin told him.

"…That's very considerate Robin, but to be honest I was hoping you'd send Raven." Even through his blotched, fiery skin he looked embarrassed. "I think her powers would be the most helpful in our predicament."

"Oh…right." Robin blushed and looked back at Raven. "Is that alright with you?"

She nodded and set her teacup down as she uncrossed her legs and rose off the couch. "I'll go pack now." The others watched her walk into the elevator.

"Sorry to be taking her from you." Hot Spot added from the computer monitor.

"No, you're right. She'll be able to help you the most." Robin answered. "But are you sure you only want Raven's help? We can spare more than just one Titan for something like this." He added nonchalantly, hoping Hot Spot would ask for him to come down as well.

"Just Raven for now should be good, but if the damage turns out greater than expected, I might have to take you up on that offer."

"Don't hesitate."

As he ended the call with Hot Spot, Robin couldn't keep himself from following Raven to her room. Something in him didn't feel right about letting her go halfway across the world alone. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her, stepping through her doorway as she packed.

"Of course." She said without even turning around, but she could sense something strange coming from him. "Why, is something wrong?"

"No." He scratched the back of his head. "But you could be gone a long time."

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I know you're worried, but it'll be fine. You can't have all the good missions to yourself you know." She chuckled.

He smiled. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Relax." She smirked. "This isn't even a dangerous mission."

"Just promise."

"… I swear." She looked at him strangely, feeling slightly offended in his persistence. "You should have a little more faith in me."

His eyes widened at her comment. "I do have faith, but I can't help it if I get a little worried sometimes." He was met with an annoyed look from her. "I just want you to be safe."

"Because I'm usually so reckless…"

"No, that's not what I meant." His confusion began to turn into frustration. "Why are you getting mad? All I'm saying is that I get worried about you sometimes. Why is that so outrageous?"

"I don't want you to be worried. I want you to believe in me."

"I do believe in you!"

"Then why does it feel like I'm being treated like a kid?" It took up a lot of her energy to keep her emotions steady and keep her voice from rising in irritation.

"That's not my intention Raven, but I can't help feeling like this. I know you can take care of yourself, but when I think about you being so far away it makes me a little scared. What if something happens while you're over there? It's not like I can just hop on the R-cycle and be there in five minutes to help you."

"Maybe I won't need your help."

He gave an aggravated groan in defeat. The last thing he wanted was to fight with her. "Fine. I won't worry about you anymore." He turned to leave. "Have a good trip."

Raven let him go and continued to pack. She gave a frustrated sigh and attempted to gather her thoughts. Robin had always been an overprotective person, but for once she wanted to feel like a real hero and not just a burden. Every time he expressed an unnecessary amount of concern, it began to make her feel more and more childish, sometimes even unprofessional. She was just as much of a hero as he was, so it felt a little ridiculous that he should express worry over something as simple as a clean-up mission. Part of her felt bad that she had with fought him. In some ways she could see how she might have overreacted, but they had been through enough together for him to know how responsible she was and his overly concerned treatment of her felt uncalled for. She wanted to feel supported like an adult, not fretted over like some kid – especially from Robin.

She finished packing all the lighter colored clothes she could find in her closet. As much as she loved her dark uniform, walking around in the desert in a black outfit probably wasn't the best idea. She pulled out a sandy-brown colored version of her cloak to protect her from the sun and a simple, lightweight tank top and shorts to wear under it. She threw all her toiletries in a bag and shoved it into her pack when there was a heavy knock on the door.

"You need help packing?" Cyborg asked as she opened the door to see the other three Titans standing in front of her.

"That's alright, I'm almost done." She let them all enter and Beast Boy dove straight onto her bed.

"I can room sit for you while you're gone, Rave." He joked.

"No thank you." She deadpanned and pulled out a spell book from one of her shelves. She flipped open to a page about creating portals and refreshed her memory of the incantation.

"You're going to teleport yourself there?" Starfire asked, observing her.

Cyborg looked at her confused. "Why don't you take the T-ship? That way you won't have to use up so much energy."

"This is faster." She told him. As much as she appreciated the fact that Cyborg trusted her with the T-ship, she didn't want to keep Hot Spot waiting any longer than she had to. She took a few moments to say goodbye to others, telling them that she'd check in with them when she got there. She focused her powers on the wall in front of her and opened a bright portal that would hopefully lead out somewhere close to her destination. Long-distance portals were a lot harder to maintain accuracy with.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Robin?" Starfire asked concerned.

"He already said goodbye." Raven said, trying not to sound bitter. "I'm sure he's probably busy right now." Although Raven knew she was going to miss him, she didn't want to try and say goodbye to him in front of the others, especially when they were both still aggravated from their argument. The others wished her good luck one last time before she stepped into the portal and quickly transported herself halfway across the globe.

When she quickly popped out the other end, Raven found herself surrounded by sand dunes. The desert seemed to stretch on forever, until she managed to see what looked like extra-large sand dunes that could have been a village miles off. She pulled out her tracker and entered the coordinates that Hot Spot had called them from and found that it was the same place. Well, at least the portal had gotten her somewhat close to her destination.

Back at the tower, Robin walked into the common room looking for Raven. He had spent some time sitting up on the roof after their fight to get some fresh air and after he had calmed down, he decided to go back and try talking to her again. He knocked on her door multiple times, but there was no answer. She wasn't in the bathroom or the kitchen either.

"Guys, have you seen Raven?" He asked Cyborg and Beast Boy who were playing video games.

"Raven left dude."

"What? Where?"

"To Morocco… to help Hot Spot." Cyborg responded in an odd tone. "Jeeze man, it just happened this morning. You answered the call, remember?"

"She left already?"

"Yeah, she said you already said goodbye."

"Yeah, but I didn't mean it." He whispered to himself. He couldn't believe it. How could she just fly off for who knows how long without even saying goodbye to him? He realized they were both angry, but that wasn't how he wanted to leave things between them before she left. "I was on the roof." He told them. Disbelief still dripped from his voice. "I didn't see or hear the T-ship launch."

"She didn't take the T-ship. She left through some portal-thingy." Beast Boy jammed his fingers into his controller as he tried to get his player in the lead.

Robin sighed. His heart sank and he felt the guilt start to choke him for fighting with her. He didn't mean to make her so angry, but he also didn't believe that he was completely in the wrong. He could always just call her on her communicator to apologize, but he didn't want to upset her more, especially if she was busy. The work she was doing was more important than some silly argument.

"Everything okay?" Cyborg startled him out of his thoughts. His teammates had paused their game and were now looking back at him strangely.

"Yeah, everything's fine." He answered simply and turned to go to his room as Cyborg and Beast Boy shrugged at each other and returned their focus to the screen in front of them.

* * *

Being somewhat drained from the trip there, Raven decided to save her psychic energy and walk as far as she could. Because of the time difference, it was the middle of the day in Morocco and the sun was at its highest. After a mile or two the heat began to bare down on her to the point where she was forced to wrap her cloak around her head like a keffiyeh. She took little, evenly portioned sips from the water bottle she had packed and continued to endure the desert as best she could. The closer she got to the village, she more she began to realize that the large sand dunes she thought were buildings actually were giant hills of sand. Hot Spot wasn't kidding when he said the city had been buried from the storm. Miles later, the desert started to disappear and the terrain took on a more familiar sense of civilization. When she managed to gain some energy back, she decided to pick up her speed and fly the rest of the way and was able to observe the reality of the situation. Some places had been harder hit than others, but overall the entire city appeared unlivable. Hot Spot had claimed that he had evacuated everyone to another area, but Raven wouldn't be surprised if there were still people trapped inside their own homes from the sand barricading their windows and doors.

"Raven!" She heard a voice behind her and turned to see Hot Spot running over to her. "You're here already."

"I tried to get here as fast as I could. You weren't over exaggerating on the phone."

"I know; it's terrible." He said, looking around.

"You're sure everyone's been evacuated?"

"Positive. We dug into every home to make sure. Now it's just a matter of getting all this sand out of here and reconstructing the town as best we can." He began to walk her through the dusty streets. "Let me take you to where you'll be staying so you can unpack and get settled."

Raven took in the sight around her. It was going to be a big job, but if she worked all day and through some of the night, she might be able to get all the homes dug out within the next couple of days. It would be tiring, but she was more determined than she had felt in a long time, especially after her argument with Robin. She noticed that Hot Spot seemed a little quiet as they walked. "Is there anything else I should know before I get started?" She asked him.

"Yeah, we have a team of volunteers that'll be working with you." He pointed out to the various dump trucks parked around the streets. "Move the sand into the trucks and once they're full, the volunteers will drive them out into the desert and dump them."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Simple, but exhausting. Don't feel like you have to overwork yourself Raven. The desert can be very harsh for someone who's not used to it." His voice became dejected again. "I'll try and help you as best I can, but there's only so much I can do with my powers in this kind of situation."

"You've done a great job already." She told him. "Evacuating all the citizens and keeping them safe is the first priority and you've already done that. The fact that you can still act as a hero even without using your powers is very admirable." She couldn't help but think of Robin as she said this.

"Thank you, Raven." He smiled and led her to a small hut on the edge of the town where she'd be staying. "We managed to dig this one out early since it hadn't got hit too badly by the storm." He ducked through the small doorway, motioning for her to follow him. "I stocked it with food for you and there's a well out back with clean water. I know it's not much, but the bed is comfy and there's a working bathroom behind that curtain." He said pointing.

"It's more than enough." She set her pack on the ground. "Let me just clean up a bit and I'll get started right away."

"Take your time. I'll have my communicator if you need me." She nodded and watched him exit her small abode.

Raven finished off the rest of her water and refilled the bottle from the well outside. She cleaned the dirt and sand off her face and hands and remembered to call the others before she set off to work. She opened her communicator and waited for the signal to reach the tower.

"Hey Raven!" She saw Cyborg's face fill up the screen. "I take it you made it to Morocco alright?"

"Yeah just fine, but this mission might take a little longer than I originally thought. The place looks like a giant sandbox and the weather conditions aren't going to be the easiest to work in. I'll go as fast as I can, but I don't know how long it'll be before the whole town is livable again."

"Well don't work too hard." Cyborg told her, just like Hot Spot had. "If no one is in immediate danger, then it's not worth working yourself straight to death."

"I know." She sighed. "I'm going to go get started now, but tell the others I said hi."

"I will. Good luck."

His face disappeared from the tiny screen and Raven set her communicator down on the table. She tied up her hair and straightened up her clothes before exiting the small home to start her work. Hot Spot met her at the end of the street and started instructing her on the important places to start first like hospitals and city centers. The volunteers worked around her as she began lifting up as much sand as she could with her powers and releasing it into the backs of the trucks they had lined up around her. After she had cleared one building, the workers rushed in and began reconstruction on the inside. It didn't take long for her to get into a good work routine. She couldn't help but think that Terra's help would have been even better for a job like this, but that was a long, sad story that the Titans didn't often like to bring up.

After she had cleared out some more major areas, she began working on the private homes. One by one, she lifted up the surrounding sand and heaved it away, then pulled out any sand from the inside like tugging on a rope. All that endurance training that Robin made her do over the years was finally being put to the test. When the sun started to go down the volunteers began to pack up and leave, having worked the whole day, but Raven stayed and continued. The night brought on the cool air and encouraged her to work harder. Eventually, Hot Spot found her and told her that he was done for the day as well.

"You'll need to get some rest yourself, Raven. Tomorrow's only so many hours away."

"I will soon, I just want to finish up the last couple of buildings on this street."

After a few more hours of sweat and mental exhaustion, Raven called it quits and began to walk back to her living quarters. This town was so different from Jump City at nighttime. There were only a few working streetlamps to light her way home and because the town was essentially abandoned, the only discernible sound was the wind gusting through the empty streets and blowing the sand around. No honking horns or blaring dance clubs. It was almost eerie how peaceful her surroundings seemed, regardless of the ridiculous amounts of sand piles everywhere.

When she finally returned home she ducked through the door, ready to collapse on her bed and give herself a foot rub, but was impeded by someone she hadn't expected to see. Robin sat cross-legged on her mattress and looked up at her as she entered. She didn't even attempt to hide the shock on her face.

"What are you doing here?" She almost laughed from disbelief.

"After you called the tower Cyborg said that things were a lot worse than we imagined, so I packed up my pod from the T-Ship and figured I'd come and try to help out a little." He smiled kindly. "Not that I don't believe in you or anything like that." He added quickly, putting up his hands in a surrender motion. She began searching through her pantry for something to eat. "And also I missed you." He said quietly, hoping she wasn't still mad at him.

"I was only gone for a couple of hours before you decided to come after me."

He paused for a moment. "Well it just sounds pathetic when you say it like that."

She couldn't help but give a small smile before sitting on the edge of the bed next to him and pulling off her shoes. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago. I couldn't find you in the city so I tracked your communicator here."

"And the others?"

"They're still back at the tower. I think they can handle Jump City for a while. That is if you don't mind me staying here."

She sighed and rubbed the sweat from her forehead. "Of course I don't mind." She took a bite from a piece of fruit she had picked out. "I'm actually kind of glad you came. I didn't like the way we left things."

"Me neither. I tried to find you to apologize, but you had already left."

She nodded, ashamed. "I'm sorry about that. I was frustrated."

"I know." He scooted over on the bed and made room for her to lie down. "I'm sorry too."

She handed him the fruit and he took a bite before giving it back to her. "I guess it wasn't fair of me to yell at you." She began rubbing her thumb into the center of her foot. "I worry about you all the time too. It's just… when Trigon happened you were so protective of me. You stood in front of me the whole time – and I needed you to – but I'm stronger now and I don't want you to stand in front of me anymore. I want you to stand next to me."

"I thought that's what I was doing."

"I just don't want you to have to worry about me like that anymore. Hearing you act so protective – it made me feel weak again."

He pushed back a loose strand of hair from her face. "The last thing I want is for you to feel invalidated. We both know how strong you are, but just because I let my imagination get the best of me and I start to worry about all the things that could happen to you, that doesn't mean I think you can't handle them."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. It's just that if trouble did come along, I can't stand the idea of you facing it alone even though I know you're capable of it." He took another bite of her fruit. "I probably didn't show it in the best way, but it's like you said: I want to stand next to you, not necessarily in front of you."

She watched him swallow down the rest of his food before leaning over to kiss him. He looked at her questioningly.

"So we're okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think we're okay."

"I can't believe you left without saying goodbye to me." He smiled mockingly.

She hung her head tiredly. "I know. I'm sorry." She leaned in and kissed him again. "I guess I just hate goodbyes."

He swiftly rolled himself on top of her. "Hellos _are_ better." He grinned and began lightly grazing his hands over her skin. In her mind she already began forming a bubble to release her energy into. He softly kissed the insides of her wrists and listened to her focused breathing. Depending on the tenseness of her body and her breathing pattern, he could usually tell how she was doing without having to ask her, but this time he looked for her approval before unzipping her shorts. Slowly, he slid them down her slender legs and over her feet while she pulled her tank top up over her head. He gently kissed her cleavage before she pulled his shirt off as well and he shuffled out of his own pants, leaving them both in their underwear. Although Robin's ministrations felt good as they always did, Raven had to start fighting to keep her eyes open. She'd experienced a long, grueling day of work that had left her exhausted. At one point, her eyes closed involuntarily and she could feel herself start to drift off, but shook herself awake at the last second as Robin pulled her thighs up around him. She heard him snicker above her.

"You're too tired for this." He smiled.

"No, no, I'm awake, see." She tightened the grip of her thighs around his waist and brought her hips up where she could feel how turned on he was.

"Rae, you can't even keep your eyes open."

"Yes I can."

"Then show me."

She shifted her head on the pillow beneath her and moaned tiredly. "See?" She said.

"You didn't do it." He had to keep himself from laughing as she grunted in rebuttal.

He gave a sigh before removing her legs from around his waist and pulling out the covers beneath them. He tucked her comfortably into the sheets and walked into the bathroom to clean up and try to calm himself down before joining her. Raven wasn't the only one who was having trouble keeping her emotions calm during their nights together. When he came back out from behind the curtain that separated the bathroom from the main room, he saw that she was already completely passed out. He was slightly disappointed, but he didn't blame her; she'd had a longer day than he had. Careful not to wake her, he slid into the small bed next to her and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

When Robin woke up early the next morning, Raven was already up and brushing her teeth in the bathroom. Still sleepy, he scooched in next to her and began applying shaving cream to his jaw. She spat out her toothpaste before speaking.

"I'm sorry about last night." She rinsed her mouth out. "I didn't mean to leave you high and dry … again." She started to blush madly and could feel her own disappointment rising up inside of her, but he simply smiled as he began shaving his face.

"It's okay, although next time I'll probably make sure you're awake for it before we start." He chuckled.

"You're being very patient." She responded seriously.

"That's what I promised."

She watched him rinse the razor out in the sink before continuing to gently graze the blade down his jaw. "To be honest, in the beginning I wasn't sure you could do it." She said and he looked at her through the mirror. "You're not always the most patient man." She added cautiously.

"I know. But that's when it comes to things like Slade and doing my job. With you it's different. I'd never want to hurt you just because I couldn't control myself."

She smirked ironically at him. "That was the same exact argument I used for us _not_ to get together."

He smiled sheepishly, realizing she was right. "Oh yeah."

After they cleaned up and ate a quick breakfast, they walked into town together as the sun started to peek over the horizon, highlighting the far-off desert plain and giving off a reddish glow through the streets. Raven began explaining her work routine when Hot Spot came and found them.

"Robin, you're here too?"

"I hope that's alright." He said awkwardly.

"It's wonderful. Now that you're here we could actually use some extra hands running supplies to those we had to evacuate to the next town over."

"Sounds good." He followed Hot Spot down the street and looked back to wave teasingly at Raven, knowing that he'd gotten the more interesting job. She gave him a pointed glare before turning to go her own way and picking back up where she left off yesterday, continuing her rather boring routine.

Robin and Raven didn't meet back up again until the long, blistering day was almost coming to a close. The sun had seemed to beat down on her harder than the day before and although she hadn't worked as late as she had yesterday, Raven felt like she was going to collapse from exhaustion. When Robin found her, he gave her the rest of his water and called Hot Spot to tell him that they were going to quit for the day. Looking around at her work, Raven noticed that she'd made over twice as much progress than she had the other day. Once she'd gotten the hang of things, she found it easier to keep going and she was able to clean up houses in half the time that it took before. At the rate she was going, it wouldn't be too long until she had dug out everything. Hot Spot expressed his gratitude, claiming that with the amount of homes she'd already cleared, the volunteers could rebuild the insides and start moving people back in sooner than they'd planned.

As they arrived back to their living quarters, Raven announced immediately that she was going to take a bath. Her body had become speckled with grime and sand and she couldn't wait to wash it all off. She filled the tub and pealed her clothes off her sweaty skin.

Robin sat down on the bed and kicked his shoes off. When he turned his head towards the bathroom, he could see Raven's shadow from the other side of the curtain. Quietly, he watched her silhouette strip out of her clothes and he wiped the remaining sweat from his forehead. He listened to the water splash as she slid into the tub.

Raven relaxed instantly as the warm water engulfed her body. She grasped a washcloth from the sink and began rubbing the back of her neck and arms. How she had gotten so much sand behind her ears, she'd never know.

"Hey Rae?" She heard Robin call from the other side of the doorway and stilled in the bathwater.

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if I came in and washed my face in the sink? I promise I'll keep my eyes closed."

She blushed at the thought, but then allowed herself to expand on the idea. Would it really be that big of a deal if he saw her naked? He'd already gotten a good view of her body from seeing her in her underwear the night before and in her swimsuit all those other times. She was going to have to show him eventually if they were ever actually going to have sex. And if Raven was going to be honest with herself, she didn't want to wait any longer. The way his muscles ripped across his body, especially when he was doing physical labor, often drove her crazy with desire. They had a connection. She trusted him and he trusted her. She was ready and she knew that he was too. It was only a matter of being able to control her powers at this point, so why not be able to see each other naked now? Her stomach fluttered at the thought in nervousness, but she still wanted it. It was an exciting nervousness. For once in her life she felt like she was doing something daring. She was pushing the envelope when it was usually Robin who liked to make the first move.

"You can come in." She told him.

He moved the curtain aside and carefully stepped into the bathroom. His eyes were clamped shut as he stretched his arms out and felt around for the sink. Suddenly nervous by his presence, Raven pulled her thighs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees while she observed him. She couldn't help thinking about how cute he looked fumbling around for the sink, but eventually he found it and turned on the faucet, immediately splashing water on his face. His skin was still red and sweaty from working all day just like hers was. No wonder he didn't want to wait for her to finish her bath.

"Robin?"

"I'm almost done." He answered.

"You don't have to keep your eyes closed." She said smoothly, attempting to hide the apprehension inside her. "I don't mind."

He paused as her words registered in his mind and he let the cupped water in his hands stream back down into the sink. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He wiped his dripping face with the bottom of his shirt and lowered the fabric to see her hugging her legs in the tub. She'd tied her hair up in a bun on the top of her head and a little wet strand had fallen out and clung to her cheek.

"You look cute." He smiled at her.

"Come here."

He blushed beneath his already reddened skin and carefully walked over to her before kneeling down next to the tub, keeping his eyes trained on her face. She pulled out the washcloth and wiped around his collarbone and he gave her a light kiss before she moved away.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked, her heart thumping a million beats per second.

"Wh…what?" He stuttered.

"You don't have to." She added quickly, embarrassed. "I just thought maybe it would be nice."

"…Do you really want me to?"

"Why not?" She looked at him curiously.

"I don't know." He rubbed his chin. "I guess there's just something so intimate about it…"

"Well that's what I'm supposed to be working on isn't it?"

He laughed, surprised by her brassiness. "You've never seen me naked."

"You can wear your underwear if it'll make you feel more at ease." She began to twiddle her fingers. "I still feel bad about last night and I want to make it up to you."

"Don't do this just because you feel guilty…" He frowned.

"No, it's not just that… I like you. I _really_ like you." She made him smile. "I want to go farther. I'm nervous, but I still want to." She took a breath and he waited for her to continue, knowing that that breath meant she was about to say something that'd been on her mind. "We've been flirting and fooling around for over a month now. I want to be able to take it up a notch. If it sounds like something you want too, then I think I'm ready to just go for it. I don't want to have to keep leaving you unsatisfied like I knew would happen from the beginning."

"I'm not unsatisfied." He tried to convince her, but she gave him an unconvinced, _oh please_ look. "You're not scared?" He grazed her wet cheek with the back of his finger.

"I'm terrified, but I don't care. I want to be with you more than I am afraid of what could happen."

His eyes widened. "I've been waiting to hear you say that." He whispered happily. "Ever since we fought in the changing room, that's all I've wanted to hear you say."

She smiled and leaned in closer to him. "So are you coming in or not? The water's going to get cold."

He chuckled and quickly began stripping off his clothes. When he was left in nothing but his underwear, he paused for a moment, feeling suddenly put on the spot. With a shaky breath he pulled the waistband down and let them drop to the floor. Raven allowed herself a quick glance over his nude figure, but rested her eyes back up on his face so as to not make him feel self-conscious. With her heart about ready to explode out her chest, she gradually clamped her hands on the edges of the tub and lifted herself up to stand in front of him. The soap raced down her body. She felt a screaming urge to cover herself with her arms, but she forced herself to keep them down. It was like a game of wits, and for once she was determined to win.

Robin couldn't move his gaze off of her even though he tried not to leer. Every curve of her figure was perfect. Better than he imagined. He felt like he didn't deserve to have her standing in front of him like this. He moved in closer to her and pulled her face in for another kiss, her wet body just about pressing against his dry skin. Still nervous, she inhaled another deep breath, but managed to keep her emotions on their leashes. She led him into the bathtub and got him to sit down in front of her so that his back was facing her front. Gently, she pulled his torso backwards so that he rested comfortably against her chest. His head rested in the crook of her neck as she took the washcloth and ran it over his upper body. Once he allowed himself to get used to the feeling, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relish in the sensation of what she was doing to him.

"How are you doing?" He asked after a few silent minutes. He thought he could almost feel her heart pounding against his back.

"I'm holding on." She puffed out as if she'd been holding her breath. She'd never felt this amount of anxiety and lust at the same time. Part of her kept focusing on how different it felt to be pressed naked against each other; it was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, but another part of her wanted more.

In an attempt to ease her, Robin reached into the water and pulled her thighs up to either side of him, wrapping them loosely around his waist. He held her foot in his hand and began massaging her arch with his thumb. She wrapped her arms around him and moaned gratefully, grazing her nose up and down the skin behind his ear. Eventually however, the water began to chill and Raven's hands grew wrinkled from soaking so long. The sun began to set through the bathroom window and she patted Robin on the shoulder to let him know that she was ready to get out.

They pulled themselves up out of the water and wrapped dry towels around their bodies. Raven watched as Robin shook out his damp hair. The muscles in his arms tightened and flexed as he moved. Before she could change her mind, she followed the urge to grab him and pull him into the bedroom. She led him onto the bed and he crawled over her, his arousal growing fast. Carefully, he removed her towel and took another long look over her body before running his hands smoothly down the lengths of her sides.

"You sure you want to do this?" He asked and she nodded without hesitation.

Raven tried to focus on stilling her energy, preventing it from latching onto anything around them that could potentially break or hurt Robin, but it became a lot more difficult as she grew more aroused. To her, it felt like the world around them had frozen still as she watched Robin remove his own towel from around his waist and lower his body gently down to meet hers.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm planning on wrapping up this story soon. The way I have it planned out, it'll probably be 10 chapters altogether, just to give you guys a heads up. And again, thanks to all my readers and reviewers who have kept me going.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning** : The beginning of this chapter contains some more mature sexual content. Younger readers please read with caution, or you can skip down a few paragraphs to start.

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

Raven awoke in the middle of the night and was unable to fall back asleep. Even in the dark she could still perfectly see Robin sleeping next to her, lying on his stomach. His back rose and fell with each slumbered breath. The events of the night flashed through her memory easily. The pain of her stretched lower muscles paired with the way his body trembled against hers as he entered her. It had been painful, but she knew that was a possibility. Robin had been very concerned over whether or not he was hurting her, but she knew that if she told him about it, then he'd stop and that wasn't something she wanted. As much as it hurt, she savored the memory of what it felt like to be so close to him and the sounds he made as pleasure overtook him.

They had both struggled in keeping control. Even though she had tried, Raven had failed to keep her powers contained and ended up making a mess of their room, with objects strewn about and furniture cracked. Robin also strained in controlling himself. Every moment or two, Raven could feel the tenseness racking him and she knew that he was desperately trying to hold himself back for her benefit. At one point she had whispered for him to let himself go – that she could handle it – but he kept himself restrained by making sure that he didn't go too fast for her or thrust hard enough that he really hurt her. Eventually, when the pain began to ease a little, Raven finally started to feel the same pleasure that he was experiencing. She let out a low moan and began raking her fingers down his back as he moved them. However, when she finally began giving him the responses he desired from her, his restraint shrunk even less and he knew it wouldn't be long until he couldn't hold it in anymore. He tried to keep his motions slow and steady, but his body wouldn't listen to his mind. Raven felt him begin to thrust harder and faster until finally, he couldn't take it anymore. His hips gave one last strong plunge into hers and she felt his body quivering desperately into her before his muscled relaxed and his body collapsed onto hers. His limbs went weak and he panted into her, his entire being spent.

They talked for a while afterwards. Robin had felt awful upon the realization that he hadn't gotten her to her peak, but Raven tried her best to convince him that she had enjoyed it.

"I'll be better next time." He told her, disheartened. She could feel his own displeasure with himself and she realized that this was something they were both new at. She had always looked towards Robin as someone who always knew what he was doing, but he had been just as nervous and self-conscious as she was. Raven didn't like that he felt disappointed, but she also saw an upside to it. It gave them both room to improve. It made her feel like they were really in this together, like it gave them something they could both work on with each other without one being more experienced than the other. Once she had managed to sooth his torn pride, she ran her fingers up and down his bare back and eventually coaxed him to sleep.

When she woke in the middle of the night, her body still felt different, like something about her had changed even though she knew she was the same. The feeling was new and unfamiliar, but she forced herself to accept it without fear. She remained stretched out in bed, unable to fall back asleep, and decided that she would be better off getting a head start on work. Careful not to wake Robin, she slipped out of bed and dressed herself before grabbing some food and quietly sneaking out the door. Perhaps focusing on work would help clear her mind.

Hours later, when the sun began to rise and a hot breeze blew through the bedroom, Robin stirred awake as well. He immediately sensed that Raven was gone without even having to open his eyes. The unease washed over him again. Even though she had denied it, he knew that Raven had been in pain last night from the way her body stiffened when he moved. He tried everything he could to make it feel good for her, but it had been a tighter fit than anticipated – not that he was bragging. He didn't even care that it was his first time too; he just wanted to make it amazing for her and all he did was cause her pain and leave her unsatisfied. He felt as though he had turned from a man back into a boy over the course of one night. He honestly thought he'd have more control, but he hadn't expected her body to feel so good. All the pent up arousal he'd been suffocating over the past weeks had finally escaped and completely undid him. And even though it had felt incredible to be with her, he now only felt guilty that it had been all pleasure for him and pain for her. And now she was gone…

He didn't know how to interpret it. Was she upset with him? Was she scared to see him after what had happened? He looked in her bag and saw that her communicator was gone, so she must have taken it wherever she went. He could call her and try to talk to her, but maybe that was a bad idea. Maybe she needed space. It was probably a better idea to let her focus on herself for a while and then try talking to her later that night, although he wasn't looking forward to it. He didn't know how to make it better. All he could do was apologize, but he'd already done that and it hadn't seemed to change anything.

Meanwhile, Raven had been making some major progress in town. Most of the homes had been dug out and repaired and she had improved to the point where she could take on multiple homes at once. In the cool night air she found that she could move faster than ever without getting tired and at the rate she was going, she was determined to have the rest of the city dug out within the next 24 hours. Her biceps flexed and burned as she moved, but she liked the sensation. She could feel the muscles in her back stretch and tear as she lifted the sand up and hurled it into the trucks. As she worked into the morning, the volunteers gradually came out and started helping her. As soon as she was done pulling the sand out of a building, they would race to inspect the damage and begin making repairs. Hot Spot found her later that morning and informed her that they were going to begin moving families back into their homes, much to his delight.

"I never expected to be making so much progress so fast." He told her.

"Gee thanks." She smirked.

"Oh, no." He blushed. "I didn't mean it like that. You've been wonderful, that's all."

"Thank you." She nodded and glanced over his shoulder to see Robin working behind him. He was helping residents carry supplies into their homes at the end of the street. Raven tried to make eye contact with him, but he seemed to be avoiding her. She decided to let it go for the moment and return to her work.

* * *

Everyone worked all day and well into the night. By the time Raven had reached her last building, most of the residents had returned to their homes and were trying to restore their lives back to normal. When all of the excess sand had been swept away and disposed of, some of the workers had come up to Raven to thank and congratulate her for all her hard work before heading to their own homes.

"Now there are just some last minute repairs that we can finish tomorrow." Hot Spot told her. "You and Robin are welcome to go home any time you want. You've done more than enough. This whole project would've taken ten times as long without you."

She was flattered. "We'll probably rest for the night and head out tomorrow morning. We don't want to be away from Jump City for too long."

"I'm sure your city misses you as well." He smiled. She thanked him again before they parted ways and she walked home alone. A chill blew through the newly repaired streets and she began to see what the town actually looked like when it wasn't the victim of a massive storm. As she walked, she could already see lights turned on inside some of the buildings that had been repaired. Every now and then a person would pass her on the street and she knew that the city was slowly coming back to life.

When she made it back home, the front door was slightly ajar and she knew that Robin must have already returned. She entered slowly and saw him standing with his back to the door, staring out the window into the desert.

"Everything alright?" She asked cautiously.

"I don't know, is it?" He responded genuinely. "You weren't here when I woke up."

"I know. I went to work early." She felt ashamed upon realizing that she'd offended him. "I guess I should have left a note or something."

"I'm sorry, Raven." He admitted suddenly and took her by surprise.

"Robin, I told you that you don't have anything to be sorry about." She walked over to him and rested her hand on the back of his shoulder. "I don't regret last night at all." She looked at him sadly. "But clearly you do."

"What? No, I don't – I mean, not because of you. It's just… I should have been better."

She forced him to look her in the eye. "Robin, you did fine." She smiled at him. "I want to do it again."

"You do?" He asked suspiciously.

"Yes, you idiot." She teased. "It may not have been perfect, but it was our first time. It was special for me and I want you to feel that way about it too…"

"Of course I feel that way."

"Then please stop kicking yourself." She pulled his head down for a light kiss. "You could have been a lot worse." She whispered and tickled his skin above the hem of his pants.

"So tell me what I did right." He whispered back and curled his forehead into the crook of her neck, pulling her in tight.

She led him over to the bed and they began talking about the night before. Raven explained all the things he did that she enjoyed, like the way he held her and touched her, and which parts hurt the most. They talked about the best ways they could press their bodies against each other and which positions allowed for the most give and take. Robin began to feel better as he realized how accepting Raven had become about the whole thing. Her confidence and willingness to try again was helping to restore his ego and he realized how unnecessary it was for him to be so worried. Once again, he found himself thankful that it was so easy for her to understand how he was feeling. As their conversation died down, the two began to grow sleepy. Being cornered between Robin and the wall, Raven climbed over him so that she could get off the bed and walk to the bathroom, but paused as she straddled him and gave him a long, sensual kiss before rolling the rest of the way off of him.

Robin watched her stride into the bathroom. The way her hips moved lightly from side to side as she walked calmed him. She kept the curtain open while she began brushing her teeth and he took the opportunity to observe her. The small things he noticed, like the way she shifted from one foot to the other as she brushed, caused a reaction in him. He experienced a long, yet slightly gratifying ache coming from his chest and it didn't take him long to realize what it was.

He got up off the bed and stepped into the bathroom behind her and they made eye contact through the mirror, just like they had the night she'd been brushing her hair in the changing room. Only this time it was different. He still felt a sense of longing from looking at her, but this longing wasn't as painful as the one before. There was a new, strange peacefulness that washed over him upon the realization that he was in love with her, although he didn't want to tell her yet. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and placed a kiss on the top back of her head. She leaned away to spit out her tooth paste and rinse before turning around in his arms. Robin pulled her into a tight hug and held her there for as long as he could. He tried to take in everything about her before having to let her go. She gave him a curious look as they separated, but he just smiled back at her and watched her climb into bed.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, Hot Spot said we could go home tomorrow." She said from under the covers.

"That was fast." He turned on the sink and started to clean up himself. "The whole reason I came here was to help you out and it turns out you barely needed me."

"Was that the reason you came? I vaguely remember something about you missing me…" She teased.

He finished in the bathroom and pushed her over on the bed so he could crawl in next to her. "Well maybe it wasn't the _whole_ reason."

* * *

In the morning they walked into town together to help with some last minute repairs and help move the rest of the citizens back into their homes.

"You did some really great work here." Robin told her and folded his arm around her shoulder.

"So did you." She leaned into him. "I'm just ready to go home. I think the heat is starting to get to me."

They said their final goodbyes to Hot Spot and told him that if he ever needed them again, they would be more than happy to come back. They packed up their luggage and fixed their lodging back up the best they could before hiking back to where Robin had parked his pod from the T-ship. They squeezed inside the cramped compartment and sent a message to the tower that they would be arriving back home in a few hours. Feeling a bit uncomfortable being cramped side-by-side, Robin grabbed Raven and moved her so that she sat in front of him. Her legs rested in between his so that he could have more foot space and she laid her back against his chest so that he could see where he was steering. Raven pointed out that they had essentially just swapped positions from when they took their bath together and listened to him laugh beneath her. She kept her ear pressed to his chest and stared out the window at the ocean below them.

The ride home was a lot longer than she imagined. Every now and then she could feel herself drift off against the pattern of Robin's heartbeat under her ear and the quiet song he was humming from his mouth. Sometimes she could feel him shift uncomfortably beneath her, his limbs probably numb. The hum of the ship buzzed in the back of her conscious and it wasn't until they were almost home that she woke up for real. Robin entered the code for the hanger lock into the pod's keypad and carefully reattached it to the rest of the ship. The hood popped opened with a click and they each crawled out of the seat, their joints stiff and their muscles weak from sitting in the same position for so long. They could hear the other Titans running down the hallway to greet them.

"We are glad that you were not away for too long." Starfire said enthusiastically.

"Yeah well, Raven cleaned up the place, literally." Robin told them. "She basically didn't need me there." He could see her blush out of the corner of his eye.

"How was the beach?" Beast Boy jumped.

"Beach?" Raven eyed him. "We went there to work, not take a vacation."

"Well did you guys at least have some fun while you were out there?"

Raven and Robin looked at each other and it took Raven everything she had to keep herself from blushing even more. "You could say that."

"Anything happen here?" Robin quickly changed the subject.

"Not a dang thing." Cyborg told them. "Small drug store robbery went down the other night, but that was about it. We spent the whole morning making food for when you guys came back."

"It is all upstairs; let us go and celebrate!" Starfire proclaimed and led everyone back to the common room where the dining room table had been covered in food dishes, half of them Tamaranian looking.

They ate and played card games for the majority of the day and Raven allowed herself to have fun with the others. She even let herself laugh when Cyborg became frustrated trying to explain to Starfire how to play gin rummy. Even though Morocco was beautiful and she'd only been away for a couple of days, Raven was relieved to be home. The familiarity of being with her friends came rushing back and warmed her like one of Robin's tight hugs. As much as she complained about her friends, she knew that she could never take their companionship for granted. They were the only true family she ever really had and she secretly prayed that they would never fall apart.

Later on, after the fun had died down, everyone separated to do their own activities. Raven decided to go to take her things to her room and begin unpacking. Robin walked into the kitchen to find something to drink. He grabbed a soda from the fridge and was startled when he turned around to see Beast Boy watching him.

"So what's going on?" He asked slyly.

"Um… getting something to drink." Robin cocked an eyebrow.

"I meant with you and Rave."

Robin's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean?"

"You kept staring at her through the entire game. Did something happen?"

"I wasn't looking at her that much." He tried to reason. "Maybe I was trying to looking at her cards."

"Dude, first of all – you never cheat, and second of all – I know that look. It's the look I used to give Terra." His eyes shimmered sadly as he finished.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Beast Boy gave him a tired look. "I might not know everything, but I know a lot about some things. And you were givin' her _the look_." He scratched his chin with his pointer finger. "Now that I think about it, you guys do spend a lot more time together than you used to. If I didn't know any better I'd say something was going on." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Robin didn't know how to respond. Beast Boy had caught him so completely off guard. Was it really that obvious that something was going on between them? His silence was all the reaction Beast Boy needed to know that he was right.

"Dude, relax." He put his hands up in a calming motion. "You look like you're going to have a heart attack."

"Beast Boy – " Robin began to try and explain the situation, before Beast Boy cut him off.

"–I won't say anything; I promise. I know how secretive you two both are. Plus, Raven would probably murder me in cold blood if I so much as hinted at it."

Robin nodded and eyed his teammate curiously. "You don't seem very surprised…"

He scoffed in return. "Why should I be? Out of all of us, she's always been the closest to you." He walked past Robin and pulled a soda out of the fridge for himself. "It's pretty evident that there's something about her that you understand better than we do."

Robin watched him, somewhat astonished. "I think … I underestimated you."

He pulled himself up to sit on the counter in front of Robin. "That doesn't surprise me either."

Robin felt the guilt tug at him. Out of all the Titans, he did tend to have the least amount of confidence in Beast Boy, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. "I'm sorry." He told him honestly. "It won't happen again."

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders. "Consider it water under the bridge." He took a sip of his soda and burped before laughing about it.

All this talk about him and Raven somewhat concerned him. If Beast Boy knew then did that mean that the others knew as well? Would Raven be okay with that? It wasn't really something they had talked about yet. "I'm going to go find her." He told Beast Boy.

"Sure, sure. Don't let me stop you."

He went up the elevator to their floor and knocked on Raven's door, hoping she was still in a good mood for what he was about to tell her.

"It's open." She called from the inside. When he opened the door, she was refolding her clothes and sliding them back into draws. "Hi." She smiled at him.

"Beast Boy knows about us." He said outright. No point in dodging around it.

Her smile suddenly crashed. "What?"

"He promised to keep it a secret."

"How did he find out?" She looked at him incredulously.

"He just figured it out on his own."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

He laughed. "I was surprised too, but I don't think we have anything to worry about."

He sat on Raven's bed while she continued to put away her clothes and started thinking. Beast Boy's nonchalance to the news made him question the status of their relationship. Would it really be that big of a deal if the others knew too? But if Raven wasn't ready to go public, then he was fine with that. He kind of liked sneaking around anyway – there was a certain amount of excitement that came with it – but he was now much less afraid of the other option after talking with Beast Boy.

"As long as we're on that subject," Raven spoke up and brought him out of his train of thought, "I think Starfire might also know."

"Are you serious?"

"She kind of hinted at it before we went camping."

He noticed that she didn't seem too upset about it. "Is that alright with you?" He asked her. "Or would you prefer to keep it a secret?"

"I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world; I'm just not looking forward to them feeling like they're allowed to make fun of us after we tell them."

"So, you want to tell them?"

She sighed and scratched her head. "I don't know. In the beginning it was nice to keep it private because we didn't know how long it was going to last, so if it ended we could just act like it never happened around the others. Plus, it was kind of fun." She came over to the bed and sat down on the edge next to him. "But maybe we've gone on too long trying to keep it a secret. I mean, if we plan on doing this for a while, the others are going to have to find out eventually, right?"

"Or we could just wait until they decide to confront us about it." He smiled and she laughed.

"I actually like that better. Less work for us."

He listened to her laughter and decided it was one of his favorite sounds. "Can I spend the night here?" He patted the surface of her comforter and she nodded yes. He crawled up close to her and began rubbing circles into her back.

"You okay? You seem a little different today." She pushed his hair back with her palm and he simply hummed in response. "Are you jet lagged from the flight home?"

"Mmhh huh."

"You want to take a nap here?"

"Uh huh."

"Anything else?" She chuckled.

"Nuh uh." He thought about telling her about the very important realization that had occurred to him the previous night, but kept his mouth shut. He wanted a good moment to tell her how he felt and he was in fact still pretty tired from the ride home.

Raven pushed him back on the bed and pulled the shoes off his feet. "Close your eyes." She told him and wrapped him up in her blanket. She kissed him lightly on the forehead and before he knew it, he was falling fast asleep to the sound of her continuing to shuffle things around her room.

* * *

 **A/N:** only one more chapter to go, but I'm going away on vacation so it'll probably be another two weeks before I can add the last chapter. Sorry in advance for the wait:(


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N** : another heads up, I'm giving this individual chapter an **M-rating**. I'm sure you can guess why. I tried to keep it T-rated, but I got carried away again and then didn't want to change it. So if you're worried, then please just read with caution and feel free to skip anything that makes you uncomfortable—otherwise I hope you enjoy.

 **Disclaimer** : Clearly, I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Robin stood at the window of the common room as the sun rose and slowly crept into the tower. If he looked down, he could see the training grounds sitting quietly below on the island. He closed his eyes and remembered back years ago when the tower had just been built. He and Cyborg had put the obstacle course together as a way of testing everyone on the team to see what they could really do. If they were going to be a team, Robin was going to have to know everyone's strengths in order to work together the best they could. He remembered watching Raven for the first time—really watching her. She had flown smoothly enough through the obstacle course. The way she tossed rocks around with her mind like it was nothing—he'd never seen anything like it, yet he could tell that she was still holding back. It was clear to him that she had been restraining herself, as if she trying to keep herself from getting too into it, while all the others had given the course everything they'd had. Her finish time was slower as a result, and Robin couldn't comprehend why she'd chosen to hold back. He didn't understand her back then, but something in him knew that he would with time.

"What are you thinking about so early?" Raven came up behind him and snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I was just remembering." She raised an eyebrow as if asking him to continue and he took the hint. "In the beginning, when we had just become a team, there was so much about you I didn't know. Sometimes it drove me crazy because I became so fascinated in you and what you could really do."

"Really?" She responded, surprised. "I thought you never seemed that interested in me back then."

He shook his head. "You were closed off. I could tell you didn't want to talk, so I tried to give you space. I didn't want to pressure you or make you think that I didn't trust you."

She placed her hand on the back of his shoulder. "I don't think you would have. Even back then, I never felt judged by you." The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. "And now you know practically everything about me."

"Practically?" He smirked. "What don't I know?"

"If I told you everything now, there wouldn't be anything left to tell you later…"

He chuckled warmly beside her. "I love you." The words came out easier than he thought they would. He didn't know if it was the right moment to tell her, but it was all that had consumed his mind for the past couple of days and it was becoming harder and harder to keep it in. When he turned to see her reaction, she was giving him a serious look.

"Ar…Are you sure?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"How do you know?"

He shook his head hopelessly before smiling at her. "I just know."

She gave him an annoyed look. "That's what they always say—that you just know."

"It's true." After a short silence she opened her mouth to respond, but he held his hand up to stop her. "It's okay if you don't feel the same. I don't want you to say it back unless you're sure about it."

She remained silent. If she said it back to him now, it would sound like she was lying. Would she be lying? She always thought that she cared just as much about him as he did about her, but now he was so certain that he loved her. How certain was she? According to Robin, if she really loved him then she wouldn't even have to question it, and yet here she was wracking her brain for the right answer. The realization that she might not be in the same place as him began to frighten her.

"Raven?" He asked after a little while. "Are you okay?" He gently shook her shoulder and brought her back to life.

"I…I wondered about you too." She said, not quite exactly sure how to go on.

He looked at her confused. "I don't follow…"

"In the beginning, before we really knew each other, I was curious about you too."

"You were?"

"I didn't know anything about you either. I think maybe I was even a little afraid of you at times."

"What? Why?"

"Because you were different. You had helped find me a home and accepted me into your life; I didn't want to do or say anything that would upset you. I didn't want to disappoint you. I think sometimes I even wanted to impress you. And I had never felt like that about someone before; I wasn't quite sure how to handle it." He pulled her in close and placed a kiss on her temple. She breathed into him. "Just like I don't know how to handle this." She sighed.

"Don't say that." He looked at her sympathetically. "There's no rushing it, Raven. I don't want you to feel pressured." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you."

"No, no. It's good you did. I just need some time to think."

"That's fine." He rubbed her back with his fingertips. "Take all the time you need." She stroked her hand down his arm as she turned to leave. "But don't be afraid to talk to me about it." He added quickly as the elevator doors closed behind her.

* * *

Raven roamed through Jump City. She had changed into jeans and black t-shirt and walked all the way into the center of town. It was easier to think when people didn't recognize her and attempt to make conversation. She continued to stroll down the streets and window shop. At one point, she saw a skirt she knew Starfire would like and decided to buy it for her. Anything to get her mind off the conversation she'd had with Robin. Why did she have this pit in her stomach? Why was she suddenly so afraid when she knew there was nothing to be afraid of? She didn't dream of ending her relationship with Robin. They were in a good place and they were both happy, so why did Robin confessing his love make Raven feel so anxious? She should be ecstatic; no one had ever told her they loved her before, and out of all the people in the world, she was lucky to have Robin be the one to say it to her.

As the afternoon began creeping up on her, Raven felt her stomach gurgler and growl inside her. There was a café across the street where she could easily grab a cup of tea and a bagel, but she chose to pass it and keep walking. She knew where she wanted to go.

The door of the diner made a little jingle bell sound as she opened it and the neon sign remained lit even though it was daytime. She was seated at a small booth by the window where she could look around and observe how different the place looked in the daytime than it did the night Robin had showed it to her. A waitress came up to her, brought her some tea, and took her order. The restaurant wasn't exactly impressive-looking, but there was a certain hominess to it that made her understand why Robin liked it so much. Perhaps it made him feel different, like he wasn't a Titan. When he came here, maybe he was just a regular guy with a regular life and a regular family. Perhaps that was why he usually came alone. Her food arrived and was placed properly in front of her, but she barely noticed as her mind began to connect the dots to the pit in her stomach. Perhaps the reason she was reacting so badly to their conversation was because she was afraid that Robin eventually wanted a regular life—something he'd never be able to have with her. It was the same topic they had talked about that night in the pool: she had known then that having a family of her own would be an especially difficult dream for her to obtain, and Robin had tried to convince her that she was capable of it just like anyone else. But was she really? It was something she could see so clearly in Robin's future, but what if she couldn't provide that for him? She hadn't bothered to worry about things like this before because they were just starting to sneak around, but him telling her that he loved her changed everything. Did loving her now mean that he would continue to love her, even if she couldn't give him a regular life?

Perhaps she was overreacting. It was still so early to be thinking about such things, but she knew she was going to have to talk to him about it eventually. Though there was something she did know for sure: she did love him. Of course she loved him. She cared about him so ardently that she wanted to give him anything he could ever desire, but whether or not she could actually pull that off was another story. Whatever their future was going to look like—whether it be a short, sweet romance or a lifelong partnership— Raven knew that they were going to have to make those kinds of decisions together. Whatever Robin envisioned for their future, she would try her best to give him, but she hoped that he would still continue to love her even if she couldn't.

After she finished eating, she paid her check and continued to walk through the heart of Jump City towards home. The sooner she saw Robin, the better. She cut through the park to walk along the river and watched some kids attempt to catch a fish with their bare hands. The fall breeze felt good against her face and the sun warmed the back of her neck. She began to believe that the day was taking a rather nice turn of events, until she heard sirens screaming from a distance.

 _That's a firetruck._ She realized from the alarm and moved in the direction it was coming from. As she dropped her bags and ran out of the park, she caught sight of it just in time to watch it fly around a corner. She flew after it, allowing it to lead her to the scene. She followed it down a few more streets, but this became unnecessary after some time; she could see the smoke billowing up from a block away. She sped ahead of the firetruck, her heart pounding heavier and heavier as she witnessed how quickly the fire had already spread. When she arrived, there was a crowd of people surrounding the area with desperate looks on their faces as they watched their homes crumble into ash.

"Is anyone still inside?" She asked the woman next to her.

"I don't know," she said concerned, "but the whole thing went up so fast, it wouldn't surprise me if some people hadn't made it out yet."

Raven decided to take that as a yes. Attempting to ignore the hysteria going on around her, she focused her energy into her soul-self and guided it into the building to look around, leaving her physical body safely outside with the others. As quickly as she could, she flew into apartment after apartment looking for signs of anyone still trapped inside. It seemed that all the people on the lower floors had managed to escape, so she flew to the top of the building and worked her way down. When she reached the eighth floor, she began to hear screams coming from multiple apartments. She immediately flew back outside to reunite with her body and found that the rest of the Titans had arrived. Her soul reconnected with her physical self and she didn't waste time getting back into action.

"There are still people up on the eighth floor." She told the others. Starfire gasped and the two of them immediately flew back up into the building. Cyborg and Beast Boy worked from the ground, helping the firemen spread as much water across the building as they could while Robin decided to find his own way inside. He shot a grappling hook to the roof and used it to climb into a window on the fifth floor, covering his mouth to keep from inhaling the smoke.

Starfire continued to carry victims out quickly one by one until everyone on the eighth floor had been retrieved and Raven continued to work her way down in search of more people. Using her powers, she cleared a safe pathway down the stairs for people to follow and they flooded out in a panic. Eventually, she met up with Robin on the sixth floor who was trying to help two little girls that had gotten trapped hiding inside a kitchen cabinet. Raven carefully moved the fallen beam that had been blocking them in and Robin immediately ripped open the cabinet door and pulled them out. He had already suffered some burns and his uniform was starting to fall apart as they clung desperately to him.

The floor trembled beneath their feet and they could sense how unstable the building had become. "I can check the rest of the apartments if you can get those two out of here." Raven called to him through the smoke.

"I already checked this floor; this was the last apartment." He yelled back to her. "The whole thing's coming down any second; we have to go!"

Trying her best to focus in the chaos, Raven formed a small portal that would lead them out to the street. Robin carried the girls through it as smoothly as he could so as not to scare them and Raven followed close behind him, relieved to get away from the inferno. When they popped out onto the street, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg were there waiting for them.

"Oh, there you are!" Starfire fretted. "I couldn't find you two anywhere! Are you alright?"

"We're okay." Robin coughed. The two girls still clung to him and kept their heads buried in his shoulders, unable to move. He carried them over to one of the crowded ambulances with the other Titans close behind and asked a paramedic to look them over.

"You guys should sit down too." The medic told him as he tried to get the girls to stop crying. "You and Raven look like you could use some oxygen."

"No, save it for the others." Raven told him, trying not to appear out of breath.

"It's alright, we've got plenty to spare." He cleared some room for them to sit on the back of the ambulance and began hooking the two of them up to breathing apparatuses.

Raven hadn't realized it until that moment, but she had gotten pretty burned up as well. As she looked over herself, she saw that her clothes looked just as burnt up as Robin's uniform did. She had scorch marks up and down her legs and arms and she was still slightly gasping for air from rushing around the building with smoke in her lungs. She closed her eyes and gave a large inhale into the cup over her mouth, allowing her dizziness to steady.

They all watched in relief as the two girls' parents finally arrived on the scene and were reunited with their children. Raven felt a hand lay over hers and give a gentle squeeze. She looked over to Robin and figured out that he was purposefully keeping his gaze away from her. She flipped her palm up in his and squeezed back, keeping their hands hidden between their legs so the others didn't notice.

As the excitement died down and the firetrucks began to take off, the Titans were thanked for their efforts and given permission to go home. Starfire and Beast Boy opted to fly home, while the other three hopped into the T-car. Cyborg climbed into the driver's seat while Robin and Raven crawled into the back.

"What is this, a limo service?" Cyborg joked. "No one wants to sit in the front?"

"Just get us home, Cyborg." Robin sighed. He was tired and wasn't in the mood for jokes. It was turning out to be a long day for him. Between Raven having avoided him all afternoon and now the two of them getting covered in welts and burns, he wasn't in the most pleasant state of mind.

"Alright, alright." Cyborg eased. "Let's go get you two fixed up."

He drove smoothly and silently through the city and Robin started to feel like he was going to nod off before they could even make it home. He closed his eyes and let his head loll back against the seat until he felt Raven's head pressing against his shoulder.

"I know." She whispered, looking up at him.

"Know what?"

"I _just_ _know_." She smiled and Robin slowly realized what she was trying to tell him.

"Are you sure?"

She leaned her head back into his arm and closed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

He felt like a weight had been removed off his chest. His stomach twisted in delight. Before he could stop himself, he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Is there something you two want to tell the rest of us?" Cyborg spoke up from the front, his eyes staring them down through the rearview mirror.

Robin squeezed the skin on his forehead between his fingers. "Something tells me you guys already know."

They watched Cyborg smile and shake his head. "How long did you think you were going to get away with this?"

"Long enough."

They rode in happy silence the whole way back to the tower, where Starfire and Beast Boy had already returned and were talking in the kitchen.

"Do you guys need help?" Beast Boy asked, looking Robin and Raven up and down as they walked wearily through the common room.

"No, that's alright." Robin trudged over to the fridge and grabbed two water bottles before leading Raven out towards the med lab.

"Yeah they're fine. They've got each other." Cyborg laughed and the others smiled as Robin and Raven groaned their way into the elevator. Dealing with her teammates' attempts at humor over their relationship was something Raven was really not looking forward to.

They stepped into the med lab and Raven grabbed as much burn ointment as she could find while Robin filled up a bucket of cool water and began ripping up some cloth material into strips. She helped him pull off what was left of his uniform, leaving him in his boxer-briefs, and coaxed him into sitting down so she could take care of his wounds first.

Raven healed what areas she could with her powers, but some of the more severe burns still remained. Attentively, she dipped some of the cloth strips into the cold water and wrung them out before laying them down against his reddened, irritated skin to help soothe it. He closed his eyes and leaned into her chest as she wrapped her arms around him to place more strips against his back. Her fingertips ran back up the length of his spine and through his hair as she brought her hands up and petted the back of his head. She felt him nuzzle into her chest once again before he began unzipping the front of her singed jeans. Gently, he helped her shimmy out of them and ran his fingers lightly over the burns on the back of her thighs.

"Switch." He said, and slid off the cot to help Raven lie down on her stomach. Just as she had done, he soaked the strips in cool water before wringing them out and laying them down delicately on the welts lining the backs of her legs. For the smaller burns he uncapped the ointment and rubbed it smoothly into her skin in little circles. He tickled around the skin on the inside of her thigh for a few moments, and then worked his hand over the back of her knee and up her leg to rest on her butt.

"I don't think there are any burns there." Raven retorted.

"Don't you think we should check just to make sure?" He smiled and hooked his index fingers under the waistband of her underwear, teasing her. She moved her arm back in an attempt to swat playfully at him, but flinched in the process from a burn on her shoulder. "Careful." He told her seriously and tried to get her to relax on the cot again. He kissed the scorch mark on her back as lightly as he could before blowing on it and rubbing more ointment into it. Raven's body began to tingle with verve. Her scalp prickled as he brushed her hair away from her shoulder and began planting soft kisses up the back of her neck and around her cheek before arriving at her lips.

Raven lifted herself to sit straight up on the cot and pulled him closer to her body. She stroked her fingers around the length of his collarbone and moved them up to tug playfully at his earlobes. Trying to keep his arousal in check, Robin helped her pull off what was left of her t-shirt and watched as she continued to unhook her bra and slide it off her shoulders.

"Are we really doing this?" He asked seriously.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes," he blushed, "but it might hurt with the burns."

"Then we'll just have to try and be more careful." She pulled his head down to rest his forehead against hers and began peeling down the waistband of his underwear.

Raven leaned back against the cot on her elbows as he pulled her out of her own underwear and wrapped his arms beneath her thighs, bringing them to his hips. When he knew that she was ready, he gradually guided himself into her. She gave off a low moan to let him know he wasn't hurting her and he began slowly thrusting his body into hers. She began lifting her hips to meet him and he increased his pace more and more as they got into a rhythm.

After some time, Raven's body grew sore in her position against the cot and she stopped Robin for a moment so she could pull him onto the bed and straddle him. His hands rested on her back and slid down to hold on to her thighs as she began pumping herself up and down. Robin began to strain in keeping control. Even though she could tell he was struggling, Raven couldn't get herself to slow down. She started to breathe uncontrollably.

"Raven, I can't hold it much longer." He gasped beneath her.

Her body felt like an electric current and she knew it wouldn't be much longer before she lost it as well. Supplies started to fly and whirl around the med lab from her powers leaking out, but for once she didn't care. She just knew she couldn't stop. The wet strips had dried and fallen off their bodies in the process and now littered the med lab floor. Robin trembled beneath her and she could tell he was just as close as she was.

"I'm almost there." She panted into his ear.

With a new surge of determination, he tightened his grip on her body and began thrusting into her with vigor. He felt like his body was going to explode and his mind was turning to mush. He started grunting furiously against his own will. His jaw tightened and he let his head fall backwards as Raven's lips found his neck. Soon, something about her entire being went silent. Her whole body stiffened in his arms as he felt her start to throb around him, eliciting his own peak as he pulled her against him as hard as he could.

It was like they had frozen in time. Around him, it seemed as though everything had gone silent and still. Nothing was real but them. He held her and breathed in as much of her as he could, until a lightbulb popped. The lights cut out and time appeared to speed up again. Their bodies relaxed and fell limp as Raven collapsed on top of him and he lay them down on the cot. The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing, both of them too spent for words.

They lay like this for a while, allowing intelligent thought to come back to their heads. After some time passed, their bodies gained some strength back and they were able to get up and move about the room. Raven wrapped a sheet around her body and started levitating objects back to their proper places while Robin pulled on his underwear and cleaned up the glass from the broken lightbulb.

"I didn't get any glass on you, did I?" She asked concerned. "I didn't hurt you?"

"Far from it." He grinned and watched her cheeks begin to flush. He tossed the glass into the garbage and walked over to her, pushing her hair back and kissing her forehead. "It felt really good this time."

"I know." She agreed happily.

Once the room was completely cleaned and restored to normal, they separated to their rooms to change and clean themselves up. They reapplied their burn ointment and once they looked presentable, they met up once again in the common room where the others were all sitting on the sofa.

"What are we doing?" Robin asked, hopping into his seat on the couch between Raven and Starfire.

"We're gonna start a movie." Cyborg tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "BB's turn to pick." Some kernels flew out between his lips as he spoke and landed on Raven's cheek, which she then wiped off unenthusiastically.

Raven tried to stay awake during the monster movie that Beast Boy ended up choosing, but the exhaustion overwhelmed her halfway through the film; not to mention the corny plotline had left her very uninterested. She raised her hood over her head so the others wouldn't notice her eyes drift shut and her shoulders slouch.

Robin felt her lean slightly against him as she fell asleep and was relieved to discover that he wasn't the only one about to pass out. He was still lightheaded— not only from his efforts in the fire that afternoon, but also from the _efforts_ he'd shared with Raven afterwards. His eyelids grew heavy and refused to open as he tried to keep listening to the movie. It wasn't long before his head fell to the side and his cheek used Raven's hood as a pillow.

* * *

Raven stirred in the middle of the night. She sat up in her bed and looked at the clock to see that it was 2:30 in the morning. She must have slept straight through dinner. The last thing she remembered was the others attempting to wake her up at the end of the movie. She vaguely recalled Robin carrying her to her room after she refused to get off the couch.

Her body felt heavy and disoriented, like waking from a deep dream. Sweat clung to her forehead and neckline. She threw the covers off of herself and walked over to her dresser to change into her swimsuit. It had been a long time since she spent the night in the pool. Her muscles yearned to have some life put back into them.

She walked into the pool room and found that someone was already there doing laps.

"I thought this was my thing." She quipped as he stopped at the ledge to catch his breath.

"What, you're not willing to share?" Robin grinned up at her. "Or you just don't want to spend time with me?"

"Right, because we barely see each other throughout the day…" She retorted sarcastically.

He extended his arm and held out his hand to her. "Help me up." He whined playfully, extorting a very visible eye roll from Raven as she clamped her hand against his own. Before she had the chance to pull him up, her body jerked in his direction as he yanked her down and she fell into the pool next to him. He laughed and swam away as she resurfaced and began chasing after him. They spent the majority of the night messing around with each other in the water. They raced a few times before getting tired and quitting in favor of simply floating around together.

"Do you remember the conversation we had the first night you found me out here?" She asked him as he carried her towards the middle of the pool.

"You mean when you were having a mid-life crisis?"

She splashed some water up in his face. "Yes, in a manner of speaking."

"What about it?"

"Do you still want those things we talked about—a family, a more regular life?"

He stood silent for a moment as he thought it over. "Maybe someday." He looked at her cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking about it before."

He noticed that she started to look a little uncomfortable. "And…" He pressed.

Raven tried to remember exactly what she had decided in the diner. "And I'm still not sure if I'll be able to have those things too—not that I'm planning our future together or anything." She added, nervously. "I was just wondering whether or not you knew what you wanted."

He remained silently for another few moments and Raven's heart began to throb nervously.

"I know what I want right now." He stated, nonchalantly.

"Which is…?"

"That I want to be with you." He smiled. "And that I want to be with you for a very long time."

"Oh…" She knew she must have looked either very pale or very red in the face.

"I don't need to have a regular life Raven. Don't try and be something you're not just for my sake."

"I would try if that was what you wanted."

"But it's not what I want." He tried to convince her. "Maybe one day we _will_ share a life completely, but it'll be our life—and it definitely won't be normal." He laughed.

"And you'd be okay with that?"

"All I know right now is that I need to have you in my life, so as long as you're around, I'll be happy." He gave her a tender kiss, allowing her to taste the chlorine on his lips. "Are you really still so worried about the future?"

"It's just… this thing between us—I never expected it to happen. If you asked me a year ago where I thought I'd be now, I would have never guessed that it would be with you—no offense." She smiled sheepishly as his face fell in response to her words. "It's all happened so fast and before we know it, the future will have already snuck up on us. And I still can completely control my powers…"

"Don't think about it like that." He frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Just take it one day at a time. When I couldn't get back in the water after my accident, I was afraid that I was going to live the rest of my life unable to swim, but you helped me take it one step at a time. We tried a little harder every day. And now I'm here floating around in the pool with you like nothing happened." She blushed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm here to help you—you know that right, Raven?"

"Yes, I know." She rested her head in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes. "I love you."

"Well obviously." He boasted jokingly. "I mean, how could you not?"

"You're very funny." She deadpanned.

"I'm also smart, handsome, talented—"

She rolled her eyes and pulled away from him. "Are you done?"

"—and I love you too." He grinned childishly before she slapped some water into his face.

He wiped off his dripping face and pulled her close again before she could get away. His cheek rested lightly against hers and he drew her legs around his abdomen as she settled into him. Raven pushed back the wet hair from his face and tickled the back of his neck while he palmed her thighs in his hands. The muscles were strong and tight beneath her smooth skin and he found that the more he touched her, the more charged he became. Not only physically, but spiritually as well. This was something he had always felt around her. Just her presence had provided a type of treatment that he had never fully understood, but always appreciated. And now that he could delve in it openly with her, he felt like his mind was finally finding the peace it had always been secretly searching for. As he let himself experience the enthrallment of her body against his, Robin knew that there would never be another person who could do this to him—to make him think so clearly and feel so whole. He was terrified of losing her, and infatuated by the idea of always having her. It didn't seem like the words _I love you_ could ever actually convey that to her, but he knew that in some way she understood it without him having to try and explain it.

"Robin?" She whispered, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He blinked.

"Are you okay? You're squeezing me a little tight."

"Oh, sorry." He loosened his arms around her and laughed. "I guess I just need you that bad."

"Not as bad as I need you." She held his jaw in her hand and smirked.

"That almost sounds like a challenge."

"Do you want me to prove it?" She eyed him seductively, her voice lowering into a purr.

"Maybe I do."

"Alright." She floated backwards to the edge of the pool and lifted herself out. "Come on then, what are you waiting for?" Her eyes began to glow white and her body seemed to vaporize as she transformed into a raven-shaped shadow and transported herself to her room, enticing Robin to come after her.

As soon as his brain grasped what was going on, he scurried out of the pool as fast as he could, leaving a trail of water behind him as he ran to her room dripping wet. He slid open her door without knocking and gazed at her from the doorway, determination and zeal outlining his eyes. "You have no idea what you've done to me." A grin plastered itself to his face and his heartbeat throbbed throughout his entire body as he stepped through the threshold to meet her.

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry this chapter was so late, but thank you all so much for reading. I really enjoyed writing this story so I hope you weren't too disappointed. I'm also considering taking requests for some one-shots, so if anyone has any prompts or themes they'd like to see involving RobRae, feel free to leave a review or PM me about it and I'd love to try expanding on it.

Happy reading,

TheMorningPaper


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